Paired with a lock, it yells access granted; with a heart, it turns flirt-mode on for “key to my heart”; with a facepalm, it narrates yet another “I lost my keys…again.” It’s also ripe for wordplay: people drop it alongside “lowkey” or “highkey” to wink at the joke while keeping the tone low-key. As a symbol, it’s the digital pass that says “I can unlock this,” covering everything from actual doors to juicy secrets.
On Apple/iOS, it shows up as a polished golden/brass modern key, angled up-right, with a rounded head and circular hole, glossy highlights, and a clean, notched bit. The realistic, simple metal look makes it instantly identifiable—and it’s different from the ornate Old Key emoji that brings vintage vibes.
You’ll see it celebrating house closings and apartment wins, teasing a heart-lock “key to my heart,” or flexing VIP status à la DJ Khaled’s “keys, keys, keys.” It’s a punchy marker for key takeaways in threads, a gaming/Discord cue for admin powers, and a crypto reminder to “protect your private key.” Used snarkily, it fuels fake life hacks—“here’s the key to success: nap”—or nudges someone to finally spill the tea they’re gatekeeping.
Definition
An old key with very few teeth.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
786 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
Google Hangouts Picture
Twitter.com Picture
LG Emoji Picture
Samsung Emoji Picture
Phantom Open Emoji Picture
Not created yet
ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:key:
Keywords
Previous Names:
Brass Key
Unicode Category Information
Unicode Category
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
Unicode Range
1F300–1F5FF
Unicode Subcategory
User Interface Symbols
Proposed Unicode Information & Notes
Unicode Category
Abstract Concepts
Unicode Subcategory
User Interface Symbols
Names & Annotations
KEY Temporary Notes: Password (key). Not unified with ARIB-9071 =U+26BF SQUARED KEY because no carrier shows this key in an enclosing square.
