Emojis could wipe smiles off faces

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Mobile phone users are unwittingly being charged extra just for including a picture of a smiley face in a text message.

Although emojis – picture icons such as a smiley or sad face – have become a standard feature on smartphones, many remain unaware that adding that them to a text message could leave them out of pocket.

That is because some older phone models log messages containing emojis as a picture message – also known as an MMS – rather than a standard text.

Sending a group message could also transform a text into an MMS, network providers have warned.

Although unlimited texts come as standard with many contracts, MMS messages are charged separately, with some costing up to 40p each.

The emoji keyboard also lets users send pictures of animals, buildings and food, among others.

Networks warned customers that some older models of phone – such as the Samsung Galaxy S1, S2, S3 and S4 as well as the Galaxy Note – will automatically transform a text to a picture message if an emoji is included. Consumer website Moneysavingexpert.com has said that the problem could be ‘even more widespread’ than this, also affecting some iPhone users.

To avoid the charges, Moneysavingexpert.com advises users to send emojis through free messaging apps such as Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger.

Those with iPhones can also send unlimited messages to another iPhone using iMessage.

Turning off the MMS function will also block any emojis being sent as a picture message.