Variation selector
Variation selectors VS15 (U+FE0E) and VS16 (U+FE0F) request the text or emoji appearance of a character that has both.
In more detail
Some characters predate emoji and can be drawn either as a monochrome glyph or as a colour emoji. A variation selector states which one you want: VS16 asks for the emoji presentation, VS15 asks for the text presentation.
Only characters that Unicode lists in emoji-variation-sequences.txt have both forms. Adding a selector to a character that does not support it has no defined effect, so SymbolTap only offers the option where the standard defines it.
Examples
| Example | What it shows |
|---|---|
| ❤ (U+2764) | Base character, appearance is up to the platform |
| ❤️ (U+2764 U+FE0F) | Explicitly the emoji presentation |
| ❤︎ (U+2764 U+FE0E) | Explicitly the text presentation |
See it for yourself
The Unicode Inspector breaks any text into its code points, so you can watch this behave rather than take our word for it. Paste an example above into it and the structure is laid out step by step.
Source and review
Defined in UTS #51, Emoji Presentation. The explanation on this page is written by SymbolTap Editorial; the normative wording is in the linked document.
Last reviewed 2026-07-31.