Detect if a user has typed an emoji character in UITextView

Question

I have a UITextView and I need to detect if a user enters an emoji character.

I would think that just checking the unicode value of the newest character would suffice but with the new emoji 2s, some characters are scattered all throughout the unicode index (i.e. Apple's newly designed copyright and register logos).

Perhaps something to do with checking the language of the character with NSLocale or LocalizedString values?

Does anyone know a good solution?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Over the years these emoji-detecting solutions keep breaking as Apple adds new emojis w/ new methods (like skin-toned emojis built by pre-cursing a character with an additional character), etc.

I finally broke down and just wrote the following method which works for all current emojis and should work for all future emojis.

The solution creates a UILabel with the character and a black background. CG then takes a snapshot of the label and I scan all pixels in the snapshot for any non solid-black pixels. The reason I add the black background is to avoid issues of false-coloring due to Subpixel Rendering

The solution runs VERY fast on my device, I can check hundreds of characters a second, but it should be noted that this is a CoreGraphics solution and should not be used heavily like you could with a regular text method. Graphics processing is data heavy so checking thousands of characters at once could result in noticeable lag.

-(BOOL)isEmoji:(NSString *)character {
    
    UILabel *characterRender = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1)];
    characterRender.text = character;
    characterRender.backgroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];//needed to remove subpixel rendering colors
    [characterRender sizeToFit];
    
    CGRect rect = [characterRender bounds];
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(rect.size,YES,0.0f);
    CGContextRef contextSnap = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();
    [characterRender.layer renderInContext:contextSnap];
    UIImage *capturedImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
    UIGraphicsEndImageContext();
    
    CGImageRef imageRef = [capturedImage CGImage];
    NSUInteger width = CGImageGetWidth(imageRef);
    NSUInteger height = CGImageGetHeight(imageRef);
    CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();
    unsigned char *rawData = (unsigned char*) calloc(height * width * 4, sizeof(unsigned char));
    NSUInteger bytesPerPixel = 4;
    NSUInteger bytesPerRow = bytesPerPixel * width;
    NSUInteger bitsPerComponent = 8;
    CGContextRef context = CGBitmapContextCreate(rawData, width, height,
                                                 bitsPerComponent, bytesPerRow, colorSpace,
                                                 kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast | kCGBitmapByteOrder32Big);
    CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace);
    
    CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectMake(0, 0, width, height), imageRef);
    CGContextRelease(context);
    
    BOOL colorPixelFound = NO;
    
    int x = 0;
    int y = 0;
    while (y < height && !colorPixelFound) {
        while (x < width && !colorPixelFound) {
            
            NSUInteger byteIndex = (bytesPerRow * y) + x * bytesPerPixel;
            
            CGFloat red = (CGFloat)rawData[byteIndex];
            CGFloat green = (CGFloat)rawData[byteIndex+1];
            CGFloat blue = (CGFloat)rawData[byteIndex+2];
            
            CGFloat h, s, b, a;
            UIColor *c = [UIColor colorWithRed:red green:green blue:blue alpha:1.0f];
            [c getHue:&h saturation:&s brightness:&b alpha:&a];
            
            b /= 255.0f;
            
            if (b > 0) {
                colorPixelFound = YES;
            }
            
            x++;
        }
        x=0;
        y++;
    }
    
    return colorPixelFound;
    
}

*Note: If Apple were to ever roll out a solid black emoji this technique could be improved by running the process twice, once with black font and black background, then again with white font and white background, and OR'ing the results.

Answer 2

Swift's String type has a property .isEmoji

Best to check the documentation for the isEmojiPresentation caveat

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swift/unicode/scalar/properties/3081577-isemoji

Answer 3

The following are cleaner and more efficient implementations of the code that checks to see if the drawn character has any color or not.

These have been written as category/extension methods to make them easier to use.

Objective-C:

NSString+Emoji.h:

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

@interface NSString (Emoji)

- (BOOL)hasColor;

@end

NSString+Emoji.m:

#import "NSString+Emoji.h"
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@implementation NSString (Emoji)

- (BOOL)hasColor {
    UILabel *characterRender = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero];
    characterRender.text = self;
    characterRender.textColor = UIColor.blackColor;
    characterRender.backgroundColor = UIColor.blackColor;//needed to remove subpixel rendering colors
    [characterRender sizeToFit];

    CGRect rect = characterRender.bounds;
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(rect.size, YES, 1);
    CGContextRef contextSnap = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();
    [characterRender.layer renderInContext:contextSnap];
    UIImage *capturedImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
    UIGraphicsEndImageContext();

    CGImageRef imageRef = capturedImage.CGImage;
    size_t width = CGImageGetWidth(imageRef);
    size_t height = CGImageGetHeight(imageRef);
    CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();
    size_t bytesPerPixel = 4;
    size_t bitsPerComponent = 8;
    size_t bytesPerRow = bytesPerPixel * width;
    size_t size = height * width * bytesPerPixel;
    unsigned char *rawData = (unsigned char *)calloc(size, sizeof(unsigned char));
    CGContextRef context = CGBitmapContextCreate(rawData, width, height,
                                                 bitsPerComponent, bytesPerRow, colorSpace,
                                                 kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast | kCGBitmapByteOrder32Big);
    CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace);

    CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectMake(0, 0, width, height), imageRef);
    CGContextRelease(context);

    BOOL result = NO;
    for (size_t offset = 0; offset < size; offset += bytesPerPixel) {
        unsigned char r = rawData[offset];
        unsigned char g = rawData[offset+1];
        unsigned char b = rawData[offset+2];

        if (r || g || b) {
            result = YES;
            break;
        }
    }

    free(rawData);

    return result;
}

@end

Example usage:

if ([@"😎" hasColor]) {
    // Yes, it does
}
if ([@"@" hasColor]) {
} else {
    // No, it does not
}

---

Swift:

String+Emoji.swift:

import UIKit

extension String {
    func hasColor() -> Bool {
        let characterRender = UILabel(frame: .zero)
        characterRender.text = self
        characterRender.textColor = .black
        characterRender.backgroundColor = .black
        characterRender.sizeToFit()
        let rect = characterRender.bounds
        UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(rect.size, true, 1)

        let contextSnap = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext()!
        characterRender.layer.render(in: contextSnap)

        let capturedImageTmp = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
        UIGraphicsEndImageContext()
        guard let capturedImage = capturedImageTmp else { return false }

        let imageRef = capturedImage.cgImage!
        let width = imageRef.width
        let height = imageRef.height

        let colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB()

        let bytesPerPixel = 4
        let bytesPerRow = bytesPerPixel * width
        let bitsPerComponent = 8
        let size = width * height * bytesPerPixel
        let rawData = calloc(size, MemoryLayout<CUnsignedChar>.stride).assumingMemoryBound(to: CUnsignedChar.self)

        guard let context = CGContext(data: rawData, width: width, height: height, bitsPerComponent: bitsPerComponent, bytesPerRow: bytesPerRow, space: colorSpace, bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue | CGBitmapInfo.byteOrder32Big.rawValue) else { return false }

        context.draw(imageRef, in: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: width, height: height))

        var result = false
        for offset in stride(from: 0, to: size, by: 4) {
            let r = rawData[offset]
            let g = rawData[offset + 1]
            let b = rawData[offset + 2]

            if (r > 0 || g > 0 || b > 0) {
                result = true
                break
            }
        }

        free(rawData)

        return result
    }
}

Example usage:

if "😎".hasColor() {
    // Yes, it does
}
if "@".hasColor() {
} else {
    // No, it does not
}

Answer 4

Here is the emoji detection method in Swift. It works fine. Hope it will help others.

 func isEmoji(_ character: String?) -> Bool {

        if character == "" || character == "\n" {
            return false
        }
        let characterRender = UILabel(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 1, height: 1))
        characterRender.text = character
        characterRender.backgroundColor = UIColor.black  
        characterRender.sizeToFit()
        let rect: CGRect = characterRender.bounds
        UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(rect.size, true, 0.0)

        if let contextSnap:CGContext = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext() {
            characterRender.layer.render(in: contextSnap)
        }

        let capturedImage: UIImage? = (UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext())
        UIGraphicsEndImageContext()
        var colorPixelFound:Bool = false

        let imageRef = capturedImage?.cgImage
        let width:Int = imageRef!.width
        let height:Int = imageRef!.height

        let colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB()

        let rawData = calloc(width * height * 4, MemoryLayout<CUnsignedChar>.stride).assumingMemoryBound(to: CUnsignedChar.self)

            let bytesPerPixel:Int = 4
            let bytesPerRow:Int = bytesPerPixel * width
            let bitsPerComponent:Int = 8

            let context = CGContext(data: rawData, width: Int(width), height: Int(height), bitsPerComponent: Int(bitsPerComponent), bytesPerRow: Int(bytesPerRow), space: colorSpace, bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue | CGBitmapInfo.byteOrder32Big.rawValue)



        context?.draw(imageRef!, in: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: width, height: height))

            var x:Int = 0
            var y:Int = 0
            while (y < height && !colorPixelFound) {

                while (x < width && !colorPixelFound) {

                    let byteIndex: UInt  = UInt((bytesPerRow * y) + x * bytesPerPixel)
                    let red = CGFloat(rawData[Int(byteIndex)])
                    let green = CGFloat(rawData[Int(byteIndex+1)])
                    let blue = CGFloat(rawData[Int(byteIndex + 2)])

                    var h: CGFloat = 0.0
                    var s: CGFloat = 0.0
                    var b: CGFloat = 0.0
                    var a: CGFloat = 0.0

                    var c = UIColor(red:red, green:green, blue:blue, alpha:1.0)
                    c.getHue(&h, saturation: &s, brightness: &b, alpha: &a)

                    b = b/255.0

                    if Double(b) > 0.0 {
                        colorPixelFound = true
                    }
                    x+=1
                }
                x=0
                y+=1
            }

        return colorPixelFound
}

Answer 5

First let's address your "55357 method" – and why it works for many emoji characters.

In Cocoa, an NSString is a collection of unichars, and unichar is just a typealias for unsigned short which is the same as UInt16. Since the maximum value of UInt16 is 0xffff, this rules out quite a few emoji from being able to fit into one unichar, as only two out of the six main Unicode blocks used for emoji fall under this range:

• Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
• Dingbats (U+2700–U+27BF)

These blocks contain 113 emoji, and an additional 66 emoji that can be represented as a single unichar can be found spread around various other blocks. However, these 179 characters only represent a fraction of the 1126 emoji base characters, the rest of which must be represented by more than one unichar.

Let's analyse your code:

unichar unicodevalue = [text characterAtIndex:0];

What's happening is that you're simply taking the first unichar of the string, and while this works for the previously mentioned 179 characters, it breaks apart when you encounter a UTF-32 character, since NSString converts everything into UTF-16 encoding. The conversion works by substituting the UTF-32 value with surrogate pairs, which means that the NSString now contains two unichars.

And now we're getting to why the number 55357, or 0xd83d, appears for many emoji: when you only look at the first UTF-16 value of a UTF-32 character you get the high surrogate, each of which have a span of 1024 low surrogates. The range for the high surrogate 0xd83d is U+1F400–U+1F7FF, which starts in the middle of the largest emoji block, Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs (U+1F300–U+1F5FF), and continues all the way up to Geometric Shapes Extended (U+1F780–U+1F7FF) – containing a total of 563 emoji, and 333 non-emoji characters within this range.

So, an impressive 50% of emoji base characters have the the high surrogate 0xd83d, but these deduction methods still leave 384 emoji characters unhandled, along with giving false positives for at least as many.

---

So, how can you detect whether a character is an emoji or not?

I recently answered a somewhat related question with a Swift implementation, and if you want to, you can look at how emoji are detected in this framework, which I created for the purpose of replacing standard emoji with custom images.

Anyhow, what you can do is extract the UTF-32 code point from the characters, which we'll do according to the specification:

- (BOOL)textView:(UITextView *)textView shouldChangeTextInRange:(NSRange)range replacementText:(NSString *)text {

    // Get the UTF-16 representation of the text.
    unsigned long length = text.length;
    unichar buffer[length];
    [text getCharacters:buffer];

    // Initialize array to hold our UTF-32 values.
    NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];

    // Temporary stores for the UTF-32 and UTF-16 values.
    UTF32Char utf32 = 0;
    UTF16Char h16 = 0, l16 = 0;

    for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
        unichar surrogate = buffer[i];

        // High surrogate.
        if (0xd800 <= surrogate && surrogate <= 0xd83f) {
            h16 = surrogate;
            continue;
        }
        // Low surrogate.
        else if (0xdc00 <= surrogate && surrogate <= 0xdfff) {
            l16 = surrogate;

            // Convert surrogate pair to UTF-32 encoding.
            utf32 = ((h16 - 0xd800) << 10) + (l16 - 0xdc00) + 0x10000;
        }
        // Normal UTF-16.
        else {
            utf32 = surrogate;
        }

        // Add UTF-32 value to array.
        [array addObject:[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInteger:utf32]];
    }

    NSLog(@"%@ contains values:", text);

    for (int i = 0; i < array.count; i++) {
        UTF32Char character = (UTF32Char)[[array objectAtIndex:i] unsignedIntegerValue];
        NSLog(@"\t- U+%x", character);
    }

    return YES;
}

Typing "😎" into the UITextView writes this to console:

😎 contains values:
    - U+1f60e

With that logic, just compare the value of character to your data source of emoji code points, and you'll know exactly if the character is an emoji or not.

---

P.S.

There are a few "invisible" characters, namely Variation Selectors and zero-width joiners, that also should be handled, so I recommend studying those to learn how they behave.

Answer 6

if your do not want your keyboard to show emoji you can use YOURTEXTFIELD/YOURTEXTVIEW.keyboardType = .ASCIICapable
This will show a keyboard with no emoji

Answer 7

Emoji characters length is 2 and so check if string length is 2 in method that is shouldChangeTextInRange: that is called after each key on keyboard hit

- (BOOL)textView:(UITextView *)textView shouldChangeTextInRange:(NSRange)range replacementText:(NSString *)text

{

    // Detect if an Emoji is in the string "text"
    if([text length]==2) {
        // Show an UIAlertView, or whatever you want here
        return YES;
    }
    else
{

       return NO;
}

} 

Answer 8

Another solution: https://github.com/woxtu/NSString-RemoveEmoji

Then, after import this extension, you can use it like this:

- (BOOL)textView:(UITextView *)textView shouldChangeTextInRange:(NSRange)range replacementText:(NSString *)text
{
    // Detect if an Emoji is in the string "text"
    if(text.isIncludingEmoji) {
        // Show an UIAlertView, or whatever you want here
        return NO;
    }

    return YES;
}

Hope that helps ;)

Answer 9

Well you can detect whether it only has ascii characters using this:

[myString canBeConvertedToEncoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding];

It will say no if it fails (or has emoji). Then you can do a if else statement that does not allow them to click enter or something.