Quartz
Subscribe
Quartz
Subscribe
Edition
Business News
A.I.
Technology
Money & Markets
Leadership
Lifestyle
Latest

Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

Business News
AirlinesAutomobilesFoodPharmaceuticalsPolitics & GovernmentRetail & EcommerceSpace & AerospaceEarnings
Technology
A.I.ComputingConsumer TechSpace & AerospaceEarnings
Money & Markets
Economic IndicatorsMarketsPersonal FinanceEarnings
Lifestyle
Cars & BikesCollectingEntertainmentFood & Fine DiningHealth and FitnessReal EstateTravel
Tech & Innovation

Facebook is supplementing the “like” button with six emoji reactions

You know what’s cooler than a single emoji to express emotion? Seven emoji to express emotion.

By Mike Murphy·2 min read·Updated July 21, 2022
Add QZ to Google

You know what’s cooler than a single emoji to express emotion? Seven emoji to express emotion.

That’s right: Facebook $META is reportedly testing out adding six emoji options (💖,😆,😊,😮,😥, and 😡) to the ubiquitous thumbs-up “like” button.

Daily Brief

The essential business news, delivered fresh every morning.

Join 500,000+ readers who start their day with Quartz.

By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

In September, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company was looking into alternatives to the Like button. Many interpreted that as a plan for a “dislike” button, but according to Engadget ES, Facebook is testing out a range of emoji options that run the emotional gamut.

Facebook is currently only planing to test out the emoji in Ireland and Spain—relatively small markets, including one that is non-English speaking. Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s director of product, told TechCrunch that Spanish and Irish users have relatively few international friends, so “they work better as closed test groups.”

Facebook’s move is another reflection of the fact that its users are increasingly using smartphones; in June, the company reported it had over 840 million users accessing the site daily on mobile. It’s hard to type out an impassioned response to something your second cousin just posted on Facebook on a smartphone keyboard, but it’s pretty easy to press the 😡 button, if that’s how you feel. You can explain it to him in person it later.

To access the emoji, users will click on the Like button, and the six potential reactions will pop up. Users can still give the regular thumbs up if they so choose, but can also choose an emotion that better reflects how they’re feeling. Users can now choose to love, laugh, smile, or be shocked, sad, or angry about what their friends have posted. It’s like “Inside Out” has come to your newsfeed.

Facebook isn’t the first social network to incorporate emoji reactions. As TechCrunch points out, the website BuzzFeed and the social network Path both let users respond to posts with a series of reactions. The messaging software Slack $WORK also recently added a function for users to add an emoji reaction to messages (the list of possible reactions is much, much larger, so if your boss Slacks you about TPS reports and you’re really feeling 💯 about it, you can say so).

Facebook has yet to announce plans to roll emoji out to a wider Facebook audience, or to other products like Messenger or Instagram. And there’s no word how liking would work for brands and businesses, either—will I someday be able to 😡 a brand?

Facebook wasn’t immediately available to comment. That makes me 😥.

Quartz

Global business news for a smarter world

Topics

  • Business News
  • Money & Markets
  • Tech & Innovation
  • Generation A.I.
  • Lifestyle
  • Leadership

Products

  • Daily Brief
  • Weekly Digest
  • Member Benefits
  • Quartz Pro

Legal

  • Sitemap
  • About
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Service
  • Advertising

© 2026 Quartz Media, Inc. All rights reserved.