Few things are more distracting than typing a word on your Mac and having it unexpectedly turn into an emoji, or having an emoji panel pop up when you didn’t ask for it. macOS doesn’t have a single “emoji autocorrect” switch. Instead, unwanted emoji usually come from one of a handful of places: text replacements, the Globe (fn) key, inline predictions, or a setting inside a specific app like Slack or Discord.
This guide walks through each source so you can find the one causing your problem and turn it off. The steps are for recent versions of macOS that use System Settings; on older versions, the same options are in System Preferences > Keyboard.
1. Remove Emoji Text Replacements
macOS can automatically replace text you type, such as turning “omw” into “On my way!” Apple notes you can set this up to insert an emoji every time you type certain text. If you or an app added a replacement like “:)” to a smiley emoji, that’s your culprit.
- Open System Settings from the Apple menu.
- Click Keyboard in the sidebar.
- Under Text Input, click Text Replacements.
- Look for any entries whose “With” column is an emoji.
- Select the entry and click the minus (−) button to delete it, then click Done.
Text replacements sync through iCloud, so removing one on your Mac also removes it from your iPhone and iPad if they use the same Apple Account.
2. Stop the Globe (fn) Key from Opening Emoji
On many Macs, pressing the Globe or fn key opens the emoji picker. If you hit it by accident, change what it does:
- Go to System Settings > Keyboard.
- Find the option labeled Press 🌐 key to (or “Press fn key to”).
- Choose Do Nothing, or another action like Change Input Source.
You can still open emoji any time from Edit > Emoji & Symbols in most apps.
3. Ignore Emoji Suggestions as You Type
Apple’s emoji suggestion feature works when you type a word such as “heart” and then press fn/Globe + E; the Character Viewer shows matching emoji at the top. These suggestions only replace your word if you press Return to accept them. If suggestions appear when you open the emoji picker and you don’t want them, keep typing or press Esc to close the viewer. There isn’t a separate setting to disable these suggestions in current versions of macOS.
4. Turn Off Inline Predictions and Autocorrect
If words are being changed or completed in ways you don’t want, the general typing settings may be involved:
- Go to System Settings > Keyboard.
- Under Text Input, click Edit next to your input source.
- Turn off Correct spelling automatically to stop autocorrect.
- Turn off Show inline predictive text to stop gray word predictions.
- Click Done.
You can also turn off autocorrection in just one app by choosing Edit > Spelling and Grammar and unchecking Correct Spelling Automatically.
5. Check App-Specific Emoji Settings
Many apps convert text to emoji on their own, regardless of macOS settings:
- Slack: In Preferences (or Settings) > Messages & media, look for an option to convert typed emoticons to emoji and turn it off.
- Discord: In User Settings, look under Chat or Text & Images for an option that automatically converts emoticons to emoji.
- Microsoft Word and Outlook: AutoCorrect can turn “:)” into a smiley face. In Word, go to Tools > AutoCorrect and remove the entry or turn off replace-text-as-you-type.
Setting names change between versions, so look for words like “emoticons” or “emoji” in each app’s preferences.
Troubleshooting
- The problem only happens in one app: It’s almost certainly that app’s own setting.
- Replacements keep coming back: They may be syncing from another device. Remove them on your iPhone too, in Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
- Nothing works: Restart your Mac after changing keyboard settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off emoji completely on a Mac?
No, but if you remove text replacements and change the Globe key action, emoji will only appear when you deliberately insert them.
Will this change affect my iPhone?
Text replacement changes sync across devices using the same Apple Account. Keyboard and Globe key settings do not.
Summary
To stop emoji from appearing unexpectedly on your Mac, delete emoji entries in System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements, set “Press 🌐 key to” to Do Nothing, turn off inline predictions or autocorrect if needed, and check individual apps like Slack, Discord, and Word for their own emoji conversion settings.
Related: how to turn off autocorrect on an iPhone and how to fix F3 not working on a Mac.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.