December 1, 2025, 4:34 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
That one person who constantly uses a particular emoji in every appropriate and inappropriate situation–you could make their Christmas special with a unique gift. Because, what few people know: You can actually “adopt” emojis. What’s behind this initiative, what such sponsorship includes–and why it ultimately benefits many people? TECHBOOK reveals all.
A deliberately placed emoji often says more than a thousand words. And even if it’s not meant to carry a deeper meaning: For many of us, these small images have become a central part of digital communication–whether to save time, make messages seem friendlier, or simply because we don’t feel like elaborating.
But as commonplace as they seem to us now, they’re not actually that simple. In other words: Even though we can easily and freely get pictograms and the like on our smartphones, real work goes into them. The ever-growing emoji repertoire–and many other related tasks–is managed by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization that relies on donations. And these donations come, among other things, through emoji adoptions.
What it means to “adopt” emojis
Those who decide to “adopt” an emoji take on a kind of symbolic sponsorship. A digital certificate and a badge confirm that you financially support the chosen symbol. Unicode makes this gesture public on its own website, where sponsors can choose whether their name or a pseudonym is mentioned. If you adopt an emoji for someone else, you can include a personalized greeting.
Any emoji can be adopted. There are different sponsorship levels to choose from. The higher (and more expensive) the level, the more “exclusive” the sponsorship.
- Bronze Level: Adoption costs 100 U.S. dollars (approximately 86.41 euros). This level allows for sponsorship that can be shared by multiple people simultaneously.
- Silver: 1,000 U.S. dollars (864.19 euros) per adoption. At this level, there are a maximum of five sponsors per emoji.
- Gold: for 5,000 U.S. dollars (around 4,319.65 euros). Paying this amount for adopting an emoji secures exclusive sponsorship.
The adoption is permanent. However, the sponsorship does not mean acquiring ownership or exclusive usage rights. Sponsors also do not gain any influence over Unicode standards.
Why should you adopt emojis?
Admittedly, spending three- or even four-figure amounts for the symbolic sponsorship of a small image, which is ultimately just a nice gimmick, seems quite high. But for those who can afford it and want to, it can be a small joy for themselves or someone else.
For the Unicode Consortium, every contribution is helpful to fulfill its tasks: from digitizing characters to maintaining standards to developing new emojis. Ultimately, countless users of chat programs benefit, as they have long become accustomed to emojis and look forward to new additions to their keyboards.