Eyes 👀

How to read it

👀 is U+1F440 EYES, approved in Unicode 6.0 in 2010. Unicode’s emoji data labels it E0.6, the label Unicode’s emoji standard gives the emoji added in Unicode 6.0 in 2010, which include those from the Japanese carriers’ sets. Unicode’s mapping file for those sets lists it under DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank. Most platforms draw two eyes glancing to one side, to the left according to Emojipedia; Google’s first version showed a single eye, though the name is plural. Dictionary.com’s entry says it mostly draws attention to something, especially drama and tension between people, which the sender is often enjoying as a bystander: “almost like the emoji equivalent of munching on some popcorn while watching conflict unfold”. Placed next to a link or an announcement it means “Look at this!”. It is also used for side-eye, disbelief or disapproval, and Dictionary.com and Emojipedia both note it beside a photo of someone the sender finds attractive. Unicode’s keywords include look, looking, peep, omg and googly.

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How the reading has shifted

Dictionary.com’s 2022 guide says that by then 👀 meant “I’m listening” or “tell me more”, a sign of interest, as in “Taylor Swift just said a new album is coming out. 👀”. When it joined Emoji 1.0 in 2015, the guide says, it was more often side-eye, or noticing that something was creepy or not quite right, and it can still be used that way. Emojipedia also records “shifty eyes”, for a deceitful act.

Look-alikes

👁️ eye, U+1F441, is a single eye, added later with the emoji of Unicode 7.0; Unicode’s keywords for it are body, eye, one and the number 1.