U+1F44D · emoji since 2010
The thumbs up emoji is the internet's quick nod of approval. People send it to mean yes, agreed, sounds good, or message received, usually when typing a full reply would feel like overkill.
It reads as warm and positive in most chats. A few people half-joke that a lone 👍 can come off as a bit blunt, so it's worth reading the room, but in everyday messages it's about as friendly as a reply gets. It also comes in five skin tones, so you can pick the one that feels like you.
In texting, 👍 does not carry a widely used hidden or slang meaning, so you can usually take it at face value. People send it just as it looks, to add a little visual touch or set the mood of a message. Only a handful of emoji have a separate texting code, and 👍 is not really one of them.
Its official Unicode name is the Thumbs Up emoji. In everyday chat most people just call it the thumbs up emoji or describe what it shows. Copy and paste it from the button at the top of this page.
The 👍 leads off a short phrase, and the rest of the words are written in cipher, every letter disguised as another emoji. Tap decipher to reveal the whole line.
Or make your own cipher in the translator.