Support for emojis in file names depends on the platforms you use
MASV supports file names and package names that include emoji characters, but the emojis might look different depending on the emoji support available on the platforms that you transfer to. Read on to learn more about the limitations of using emojis as visual elements in file names.
Why do emojis in file names look different after transferring them?
Emojis are Unicode characters, so the code for emojis can be passed across platforms, but how the emojis look depends on the operating system (OS). Some platforms support more emojis than others. For example, Apple updates emojis regularly: https://emojipedia.org/emoji-15.1.
Not all emojis are created equal
Some emojis consist of multiple Unicode characters combined with Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ) characters as sequences. ZWJ is a character that serves as an invisible connector for the sequences. For example, an emoji of a "man walking with white cane” might not be a single Unicode character but rather a combination: one for the man, one for the cane. When combined using ZWJ characters, they appear as a single emoji on platforms that support that specific combination. If a platform doesn't recognize the sequence, it will display the individual emojis instead.
The example above is the exact same file name, but the receiving OS, or at least one of the OSs the file passed through, didn’t recognize the composite emojis, so individual emojis are displayed instead.
This is why you might see different emojis when you move the file between different devices or operating systems. For consistent display of emojis, all systems involved must support the same Unicode version and the same ZWJ sequences.