Using emojis in passwords: advantages, disadvantages, and how to do it right

Passwords are that necessary evil we all have to deal with daily: they're slow to type, easily forgotten, and increasingly demanding. However, access to our bank accounts, email, social media, and cloud services depends on them, so no matter how cumbersome they may be, They remain one of the pillars of our digital security.

In recent years, a curious and striking idea has begun to gain popularity: using emojis in passwordsThese little icons, which are already part of our everyday language, can become an extra ingredient to reinforce our key points. But to what extent is this a good idea? What real advantages do they offer, and what significant drawbacks do they have? Let's take a closer look.

Why is there so much talk about using emojis in passwords?

One of the big problems with traditional passwords is that, in order for them to be secure, They must be long, complex, unique, and renewed periodically.Many experts recommend changing them at least every three months and not reusing them between services, something that in practice very few people comply with because it is difficult to manage and remember.

Business studies ciberseguridad as Kaspersky has shown that A significant percentage of users don't even change their passwords periodicallyIn some Latin American countries, for example, around 15-23% of people admit that they do not renew their passwords, which significantly increases the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime.

In this context, the idea of ​​adding emojis to passwords emerged. These icons are not just simple drawings: They are part of the Unicode standard., the character encoding system used on the Internet and in most OSThat means that, technically, emojis are treated as valid characters just like letters, numbers, or punctuation marks.

Experts who support its use argue that, when used properly, Emojis can help create stronger and easier-to-remember passwordsBut, as is often the case in security, not everything is as rosy as it seems: there are also drawbacks in terms of compatibility, usability, and the risk of errors when implementing them.

Advantages of using emojis in passwords

The first major advantage has to do with the A huge variety of emojis available in UnicodeWhile a typical set of characters (uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and some symbols) has at most a hundred possibilities per position, the standard emoji catalog far exceeds 3.600 icons, and can even approach 3.700 variants if we take into account skin tone, gender, and other modifiers.

From a mathematical point of view, this means that Each emoji adds significantly more search space for an attacker. than a traditional character. Brute-force tools must try many more possible values ​​per position, which means that a relatively short password made with emojis can be just as difficult to guess as a much longer one based only on letters and numbers.

To put it in context, some analyses indicate that A key composed of five different emojis can reach a complexity similar to a password of about nine "normal" characters.If we include seven emojis, the theoretical difficulty can be roughly equated to traditional 12-13 character passwords, provided they are combined randomly and are not obvious sequences.

Another interesting advantage is memory. For many people, it's easier to remember a short visual story than a string of meaningless letters and numbers. Emojis allow you to turn your password into a kind of phrase or graphic puzzle., like a mini-movie or a reference to a song, a favorite movie, or a personal anecdote that only you can interpret.

In addition, there are tools such as “emoji translators” or even assistants for IA capable of transform a phrase into a sequence of iconsYou can enter, for example, the title of a song or a phrase that means something to you, and get a sequence of emojis that you can then make variations on to create your password.

A third point in its favor is that, currently, Many cybercriminals and their automated tools still do not consider emojis in their attacksDictionaries and brute-force scripts typically focus on words, names, dates, numbers, and common substitutions (like swapping letters for symbols). Including emojis makes your password fall outside many of these predefined patterns, which can add an extra layer of difficulty for crackers.

In summary, if used correctly, Emojis can increase both the entropy of a password and its ease of memorization.Combining, in theory, the best of both worlds: greater security and fewer headaches when remembering it.

Disadvantages and risks of including emojis in your passwords

The least pleasant part of all this begins with the compatibility between servicesAlthough emojis are technically part of Unicode, in practice not all platforms accept these characters in their authentication mechanisms. Large services like Outlook (Microsoft) or Gmail (Google) have rejected passwords containing emojis in various tests conducted by experts.

This implies that You can't assume that any website, app, or program will allow you to use emojis in your password.In fact, in some cases you can create an account with an emoji-based password, but then, when you try to log in or go through some internal verification, the system rejects it or generates errors. In other words, compatibility isn't always consistent throughout the entire authentication process.

Another clear problem is the ease when entering emojisespecially on computers. On mobile devices, both Android , the iOS They include a very accessible emoji keyboard, so typing these icons into a password field is usually as easy as switching tabs on the keyboard and tapping the desired emoji.

However, on a PC or laptop, things get more complicated. Windows 10 and 11For example, you have to open the emoji panel with combinations like Win +. o Win +;To find the specific icon within a fairly long list, make sure you choose the exact same one you used when creating your password. On macOS, the emoji table is located in the menu Edit → Emoji and symbols or with the combination Command + Control + Spacebar. In Linux (like Ubuntu) you can also display an emoji table from the context menu or using shortcuts, but again It's not as immediate as pressing letters and numbers..

All of this means that if you use the same service on both mobile and computer, You need to check that you can easily insert those emojis on all your devicesIf you don't have a convenient way to type them in one of them, or if the keyboard layout makes them difficult to find, you could end up being locked out of your own account.

An additional, less obvious but relevant disadvantage is that many keyboards smartphone The list of "recent emojis" is displayed at the top.These are the emoticons and symbols you use most often. While this might not be very useful to a remote cybercriminal, someone close to you with physical access to your phone (family, friends, roommates) could get an idea of ​​which icons you use most and use them as clues to try and guess your password.

Finally, there is the factor of possible confusion between similar variants of the same emojiSome icons change their appearance slightly depending on the operating system or font used, and others have several versions (for example, different skin tones). If you used a specific variant when creating your password and then, without realizing it, choose another very similar but not identical one, the password will no longer match, and the system will reject it even if it looks the same to the naked eye.

How to create secure passwords with emojis

Although it's possible to create a password using only icons, many experts recommend a middle ground: Combine emojis with traditional letters, numbers, and symbols.This adds complexity without relying entirely on emoji compatibility, resulting in a more robust key against different types of attacks.

A good strategy involves starting with an idea that makes sense to you, such as a phrase, a memory, or a cultural referenceand translate part of that content into emojis, while retaining a certain portion of alphanumeric characters. For example, you could represent your favorite band with a couple of icons and add a year number that only you associate with something specific (other than your birthdate or easily deducible information).

So-called “emoji translators” and AI tools are useful as a starting point, but it is advisable to Do not use the suggested icon sequence literally.The best approach is to take that suggestion and make manual changes: replace some emojis with others that only make sense to you, intersperse numbers and symbols, or alter the order until the pattern is less obvious.

When creating your password, it's important to avoid dangerous shortcuts. It's not a good idea to use overly obvious emoji sequences (For example, icons in alphabetical order from the table or typical series like several identical faces). It's also not advisable to literally include easily researchable personal information: profession, children's names, partner, or football team, even if disguised as icons.

Another basic recommendation is Do not reuse the same password with emojis across multiple servicesThe fact that the key is visual and easy to remember shouldn't lead you to fall into the classic mistake of repeating it everywhere. Ideally, reserve this type of combination for important services and, if you decide to use emojis in several places, add small, specific variations for each one (such as an emoji associated with that service, a differentiating letter or number, etc.).

It's also worth carefully considering how many emojis you're going to use. While it might be tempting to create a very short password using only icons, Maintaining a certain length is still advisableA reasonable number could be between 1 and 3 emojis combined with a robust set of alphanumeric characters; this way you add entropy without overly complicating the input or depending 100% on all services handling emoji-only passwords well.

Methods for inserting emojis on mobile and computer

If you decide to take the plunge and start using emojis in some of your passwords, it's essential knowing how to correctly insert them into each device that you're going to use. Otherwise, you might find that everything works perfectly fine on your mobile, but you can't enter the correct password on your PC.

On mobile phones, both Android and iOS include a keyboard with a specific section for emojisUsually, simply tapping the smiley face icon or switching to the emoji tab in the bottom bar is enough to choose the ones you want. In most cases apps and forms, password fields accept these icons just like any other character.

On computers with Windows 10 or 11, the most convenient way to type emojis in almost any text field is Press the Windows key along with the period (Win + .)Or in some cases, you can use Windows with the semicolon (Win + ;). This opens a pop-up panel where you can search for the icon by category or by text. Once you find it, click on it and it will be inserted at the cursor position.

On macOS, the emoji and symbol table is available in virtually all applications via the top menu: Edit → Emoji and symbolsIt can also be opened directly with the keyboard shortcut. Command + Control + SpacebarFrom there, you just need to locate the desired emoji and double-click to insert it into the password field.

In modern Linux distributions like Ubuntu, the options depend somewhat on the desktop environment, but generally you'll be able to Access an emoji menu by right-clicking on the text field and by selecting “Insert emoji”, or using a shortcut which in many cases is also Win + period. Again, the important thing is to verify that you can repeat the same process without problems on the login screen of each service you use.

There is also the possibility of writing emojis using Unicode numeric codesIt's a more cumbersome system, but very precise and useful if you work in environments where graphical panels aren't displayed. In Windows, for example, you can hold down the Alt key and enter the decimal code corresponding to each character on the numeric keypad. Other operating systems have similar documented mechanisms, although for average users it's often slow for everyday tasks.

For all these reasons, many experts recommend relying on a password manager compatible with emojisThese tools store passwords in encrypted form and can automatically fill in login fields, regardless of how complicated it is to type emojis by hand. However, you'll need to make sure that the specific password manager you use properly supports passwords with Unicode icons.

Good practices and mistakes to avoid when using emojis

Beyond the theoretical advantages, for a password with emojis to be truly secure, it is necessary follow a series of classic cybersecurity guidelinesadapted to this new type of character. It's not enough to just add two cute drawings and think that's it.

The first is Don't overuse the emojis you use most in your daily conversationsAs mentioned earlier, mobile keyboards keep a history of recent icons, and anyone who takes a quick look could see the ones you use most often. While this alone isn't enough to crack your password, it can narrow down the search area if someone who knows you decides to try that information.

It is also key Always check platform compatibility Before permanently setting a password with emojis, test logging in from all your devices and make sure the service doesn't encounter any unusual errors when validating the password. If you notice any strange behavior, it's best to opt for a more traditional alphanumeric combination for that specific site.

Another basic recommendation is Continue combining emojis with letters, numbers, and symbolsIcons should be a complement, not a complete replacement. A strong password should include different types of characters and be of sufficient length, thus maintaining a high level of entropy even if, in the future, attack tools begin to include emojis in their dictionaries.

We must not forget the Good practices as always: change passwords regularlyAvoid reusing passwords across critical platforms and always enable two-factor authentication (2FA or MFA) whenever possible. If an attacker obtains your password, a second factor based on SMS, an authenticator app, or a physical key can be the last line of defense against accessing your account.

Finally, it's a good idea to have a reliable password managerThese apps make it easy to remember complex passwords—with or without emojis—and help generate strong, random passwords. Many also allow you to store two-factor authentication codes, centralizing your security management without having to memorize dozens of impossible combinations.

Taking all of the above into account, using emojis in passwords can be a very interesting idea if applied sensibly: They offer more possible combinations, are easier to remember than a string of random characters, and are not currently as exploited in automated attacks.However, inconsistent compatibility between services, the inconvenience of writing them on certain devices, and the need to continue adhering to classic security rules mean they should not be considered a magic bullet, but rather a creative complement within a broader protection strategy.