Unicode variation selectors

Some unicode characters (like ↩︎) get automatically transformed to Emoji in WebViews on iOS, Firefox on macOS, and web apps like Mastodon.¹ Although the defaults differ across browsers, the rendered character can be chosen through Unicode’s variation selectors.

To enforce text-style (preventing the character from being replaced with an Emoji) place the variation selector 15 character (U+FE0E) immediately after the symbol.^{2, 3} To always replace characters with their Emoji counterparts, use variation selector 16 (U+FE0F).

1. There are undoubtedly more, but these are just the ones I’ve seen ↩︎

2. To insert a unicode character in Emacs, press C-x 8 RET, then select “VARIATION SELECTOR-15”

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3. https://stackoverflow.com/a/71858998

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