Emoji and Accessibility: How Screen Readers Announce Emoji and How to Use Them Considerately

Emoji make messages feel friendlier and add tone that plain text sometimes lacks. But not everyone experiences emoji visually. People who are blind or have low vision often use screen readers, software that reads text aloud. For them, a cheerful row of icons can become a long and confusing string of words. Understanding how emoji are announced helps you use them in a way that includes everyone.

How screen readers handle emoji

Every standard emoji has an official short name defined in Unicode, such as "face with tears of joy" for 😂 or "red heart" for ❤️. Screen readers on phones and computers read these names aloud. So a message like "Great job 👏👏👏" is heard as "Great job clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands".

That may sound fine for one or two emoji, but imagine a social media post that ends with ten decorative emoji, or a username full of sparkles and stars.…