Is there a way to reset my recently used emoji keyboard on iPhone?

I seem to have a persistent ghost emoji that I accidentally clicked on once and now won’t leave my recently used list. I’ve tried clicking on every single other emoji, sending them in text messages, but the ghost emoji always stays in the third spot. My understanding is that it is supposed to self-cleanse and get rid of emojis that are used less, but the recently used emojis will skip third place (so the ghost stays in the same spot).

I have also tried using the Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary, which did not remove the ghost (just every other one I use 🤦‍♀️). I updated my phone to iOS 18.4.1 and the issue persists. Help please! Image below for clarity



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 15, iOS 18

Posted on May 7, 2025 11:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 7, 2025 12:00 PM

I understand your frustration with the persistent emoji issue. Despite your efforts to resolve it, such as tapping other emojis, resetting the keyboard dictionary, and updating iOS, the problem persists. It appears that there may be a bug in iOS 18’s emoji caching mechanism, particularly if it is causing a specific emoji to remain locked in your recent list.




You are not alone in encountering this issue. Several other users have reported similar emoji glitches on iOS 18.4.x. I recommend submitting feedback directly to Apple through their website: Feedback - iPhone - Apple This will help them identify and address the problem in a future update.


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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 7, 2025 12:00 PM in response to nikkitorres

I understand your frustration with the persistent emoji issue. Despite your efforts to resolve it, such as tapping other emojis, resetting the keyboard dictionary, and updating iOS, the problem persists. It appears that there may be a bug in iOS 18’s emoji caching mechanism, particularly if it is causing a specific emoji to remain locked in your recent list.




You are not alone in encountering this issue. Several other users have reported similar emoji glitches on iOS 18.4.x. I recommend submitting feedback directly to Apple through their website: Feedback - iPhone - Apple This will help them identify and address the problem in a future update.


May 23, 2025 07:15 AM in response to nikkitorres

Try going over to Settings > Keyboard > Emoji and turn off the Stickers. If that ends up getting rid of it, turn the Stickers back on, open an iMessage chat, click on Emoji, go over to the sticker section and press Open Stickers and go to the recents section. Press and hold the emoji and delete it.


Hopefully that helps! I'd been trying to get rid of it for months but it wouldn't budge, turns out it was a sticker



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Is there a way to reset my recently used emoji keyboard on iPhone?

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