If you keep accidentally opening the emoji keyboard while typing on your iPhone or iPad, it’s easy to avoid that in the future. You can remove the emoji button from your on-screen keyboard. Here’s how.
First, launch “Settings” by tapping on the “Gear” icon. (It’s usually in your Dock or on the first page of your Home screen.)
In Settings, scroll down and tap “General.”
Next, tap “Keyboard.” On the next screen after that, tap “Keyboards” at the top.
You’ll see a list of keyboards you have installed. Usually, the first is the keyboard for your native language, such as “English (U.S.),” and somewhere below that, you will see “Emoji.” Tap the “Edit” button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
A red circle with a minus sign will appear beside the “Emoji” item in the list. Tap the red circle, then tap the “Delete” button that pops up, too.
Don’t worry: You can easily get the emoji keyboard back later if you change your mind.
Now exit Settings and open your messaging app, such as Apple Messages. The on-screen keyboard should look something like this.
As you can see, the emoji button is gone. No more accidental smileys!
How to Add the Emoji Keyboard Back
If you’ve changed your mind and want to bring back the emoji keyboard, navigate to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards. Tap “Add New Keyboard.”
Scroll down the list until you see “Emoji” and tap on it.
Exit Settings, and the Emoji keyboard button will be available again the next time you need it.
The emoji button is back, right beside the microphone button. If you need to quickly search for Emoji, there’s a way to do that, too. Have fun!
RELATED: How to Quickly Search for Emoji on an iPhone or iPad
