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Google reveals the most-used emojis for every year since 2020 — and their hidden meanings

Nypost · · 469 words · By Allison Lax
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What to know about Google reveals the most-used emojis for every year since 2020 — and their hidden meanings

Google reveals the most-used emojis for every year since 2020 — and their hidden meanings See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Google reveals the most-used emojis for every year since 2020 — and their hidden meanings See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

An emoji’s worth a thousand words — but some may say more than others.

Common ground

A Google Trends report revealed the most popular emojis of the last six years.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/09/24/lifestyle/google-reveals-the-most-used-emojis-ever…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
help
Claim 1: “Lauren Tetenbaum, a NYC-based psychotherapist, told The Post earlier this year that it’s important to exercise restraint when utilizing the ubiquitous icons.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found regarding Lauren Tetenbaum or her advice to The Post.
info
Claim 2: “2023 was the year of love, with the classic pink heart emoji being commonly used”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that the pink heart was the most used of 2023 is explicitly stated in one source ('Google Reveals Most-Searched Teen Slang And Most-Used Emojis'), but other sources regarding the pink heart discuss its general meaning or introduction date rather than its 2023 ranking.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census. It has the fourt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “In 2025, the niche emoji of a pinching hand came in the lead”
SINGLE SOURCE
While one source mentions a Google Trends report including the 'pinching hand' for the 2020-2026 period, the specific claim that it 'came in the lead' for 2025 is not explicitly corroborated by the other 2025-specific lists provided in the evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census. It has the fourt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 4: “According to reports by Pumble and Amra & Elma, emoji use saw a staggering 775% increase in the last three years.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding Pumble, Amra & Elma, or a 775% increase in emoji use.
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Claim 5: “In 2022, the melting face reigned supreme.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including the World Emoji Awards and a Google report, confirm the melting face emoji was the top emoji of 2022.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census. It has the fourt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “2020’s emoji grand champ was actually a trio of images — the eye-mouth-eye emoji combo.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that the eye-mouth-eye combo (👁️👄👁️) was number one in 2020 is explicitly stated in one source, but not corroborated by others.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In 2020, a combination of three emojis ranked number one (👁️👄👁️). This eye-mouth-eye emoji combo connotes a feeling of “it is what it is,” according to Know Your Meme.
https://brobible.com/culture/article/google-reveals-most-sea…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Unique illustrations of combined emoji, cooked up in Google's Emoji Kitchen, and comprehensively available on the web.
https://emojikitchen.dev/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 🍨🎞 emoji combos for different aesthetics. Tap to unmute. 2x.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd7KVBxXpjU
check_circle
Claim 7: “The sideways crying-while-laughing face emoji... was crowned the most used emoji of 2026.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm that the 'Face with Tears of Joy' emoji was the most used emoji of 2026.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census. It has the fourt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 8: “2024 was the year of “no,” as the shaking head horizontally emoji took the top spot.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources explicitly state that 2024 was the year of 'no' and the shaking head horizontally emoji took the top spot.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The Bronx has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census. It has the fourt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 9: “A Google Trends report revealed the most popular emojis of the last six years.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results reference a Google Trends report revealing the most popular emojis from 2020 to 2026.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Listed below, in descending order of popularity, are the currently most visited emoji meaning pages amongst Emojipedia users.
https://emojipedia.org/most-popular
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — I Turned Emojis into Horror. Design with Hugo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HwAcTYWkdM
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Google. Расширенный поиск. Реклама Решения для бизнеса Всё о Google Google.ru.
https://www.google.com/
info
Claim 10: “2021 saw the face exhaling with a tiny puff of air as the winner of the year”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for 2021 mentions the 'Pleading Face' and general Unicode frequency pages, but does not mention the 'face exhaling' emoji as the winner.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Calculated by the most used emoji introduced to major platforms in the past year - data via Emojipedia, measured by Twitter use in July 2021. Here are the top ten most popular new emojis for 2021:
https://worldemojiawards.com/2021/most-popular-new-emoji
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 2, 2021 · The new Unicode Emoji Frequency page lists the Unicode v12.0 emoji ranked in order of how frequently they were used in 2021 and what has changed since 2019. Check it out for more analysi…
http://blog.unicode.org/2021/12/our-most-frequently-used-emo…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 2, 2021 · Pleading Face emoji — like many other emoji added in 2018 — saw a great change in rank by 2021. Possibly because of a combination of factors: it had less time to establish its position a…
https://observablehq.com/@jenniferdaniel/unicode-emoji-mirro…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.