Watch out for emoji: The high-tech text message hieroglyphics that can add more than £100 a year to mobile bills - and leave you feeling :-(

Published: 16:03 EST, 11 July 2015 | Updated: 03:54 EST, 13 July 2015

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It is the fastest growing language in Britain – emoji – but mobile phone users must ensure that they are not charged extra for using these little icons to avoid feeling :-(.

Some handsets turn text messages that contain an emoji symbol into a multi-media message, which can cost 40p to send.

To add insult to injury, some phones will turn a combination of characters in a standard text message into an emoji automatically, meaning these high-tech hieroglyphics can add more than £100 a year to mobile bills for those simply using colons and brackets to add a smile or a frown to the end of their message.

Promoting emoting: Nina Vainorius is a keen emoji user and says they add a personal touch to messages

The multimedia message service – or MMS – is useful for mobile users who have older phones, as it allows them to send a lengthy message and picture without signing up to a data usage package.

However, sending an MMS is often not included in phone deals that charge a fixed monthly price for call minutes, texts and internet surfing.

Ernest Doku, technology expert for comparison website uSwitch, says: ‘We are in the midst of a communications revolution where the way people send messages is changing and technology is playing catch up.

‘Unfortunately, emoji can fall through the cracks of some phones that do not recognise them as texts or data – and result in extra charges.’

How icons are used

The word emoji was coined in Japan in the late 1990s and comes from the Japanese ‘e’ meaning picture and ‘moji’ meaning letter or character.

Although Britons have long been sending text messages and emails that use keyboard characters to create emoticons – such as :-) for a smiley face – many smartphones now automatically translate these into the yellow face, or another emoji symbol, when you type such punctuation into a text message.

There are currently more than 1,000 of these logos, from crazy ghosts to half-peeled bananas.

In April technology giant Apple launched 300 ethnically diverse emoji that allowed users to change the skin tone of their favourite characters.

Worldwide more than six billion emoji are sent daily – more than half of them smiley faces.

But many are not so straightforward. Websites such as iemoji.com/meanings-gallery/ people can help you understand a symbol’s meaning.

This should not happen, says Doku, but he explains that some handsets made more than a year ago automatically translate emoji into MMS format. Handsets made by Samsung – such as the Galaxy S1 to S4 – and earlier HTC models are believed to be the most at risk.

Research by website MoneySavingExpert found that for pay monthly deals networks EE, O2 and Vodafone charge 40p per MMS while Three charges 19.8p.

For those on pay-as-you-go packages, EE can charge up to 40p for an MMS, Vodafone 36p, O2 35p and Three 31p for each MMS sent.

Doku says: ‘The only way to be sure you are not being charged is to get a breakdown of all fees. Fortunately, most handsets recognise emoji straight away these days and will send them as texts.’

He adds: ‘If you really want to save money, consider using a free app service such as WhatsApp, Snapchat or iMessenger. You can send messages with these for free.’

These instant messaging apps enable smartphone users to chat to each other at no extra cost when connected to wi-fi or if they have mobile internet access. They must first download the relevant software.

The apps bypass traditional texts and MMS services that you might otherwise have to pay for.

Nina Vainorius is a keen emoji user. As a project manager for London-based social media agency Gleam Future, the 25-year-old advises clients on how to make the most of the icons.

She recently saved herself £30 a month after switching her O2 phone package from a £45-a-month deal, offering unlimited calls, data usage and texts, to £15 a month for 500 megabytes of data usage, 500 minutes of calls and unlimited texts for her iPhone 5 handset.

Nina, from Islington, North London, uses WhatsApp for most of her day-to-day chat. She says: ‘You add a personal touch with emoji. As they are cartoons and often used by young people many think they are childish. But they give new expression, humour as well as subtle emotion, on top of any words.’

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app and can be used on both iPhone and Android mobiles. It has more than 800million users worldwide and is free for the first year after which there is a basic annual subscription, currently just 69p.

If Nina wants to send photos or videos she uses Snapchat, on which messages disappear within ten seconds of being opened.

She says: ‘Snapchat is a great way of keeping in touch and allows you to send pictures knowing no one will be able to keep them.’

Snapchat has more than 100million regular users, who send more than 700 million photos or videos every day. The app is free to download, but can eat into your data allowance. The firm makes money by selling advertising space.

Other instant messaging apps include BlackBerry Messenger, iMessenger, Viber, imo and Kik. Instagram also offers a free photo and video sending service.

Video-calling service Skype also offers an instant messaging facility.

The last word on talking in symbols

Yellow heart: Used in messages sent to best friends and also signifies that you send more messages to them than anyone else. However, because of this special significance it is a tool that should be used sparingly.

Smirking face: This is typically sent to someone who considers themselves one of your best friends – but they send you more messages than you send them. It can sometimes be taken as a flirtatious gesture.

Flame: Shows you have begun a ‘snapstreak’ – sending personal messages on consecutive days. Social media apps such as Snapchat will also show how many times you have kept up the streak.

Crying with a stream of tears: This shows how bad you feel about a situation – distraught and inconsolable. It should not be confused with the tears of joy or laughter that can accompany a smiley face icon.

...and Emoji Dick: For those really into emoji, Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick is the first book to have been translated into emoji. It’s 736 pages of hard reading.

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