Why it matters
Emojis change how SMS messages are encoded, which can significantly increase credit usage. Knowing how emojis work in Whippy helps you control costs, avoid unexpected credit spend, and design messages more efficiently.
Key Concepts
GSM-7 encoding: The standard SMS encoding that allows up to 160 characters per credit.
UCS-2 encoding: An alternative encoding triggered by emojis or special characters, allowing only 69 characters per credit.
Credit: The unit Whippy uses to measure SMS usage.
Billing controls: Organisation-level settings that control features impacting credit usage, such as emojis.
How Emojis Affect SMS Credits
By default, SMS messages use GSM-7 encoding, which allows up to 160 characters per credit.
When a message includes:
Emojis
Non-English characters
Special symbols
The message is automatically reclassified to UCS-2 encoding, which allows only 69 characters per credit.
This means a message that would normally cost one credit can cost two or more credits once an emoji is included.
Examples
A 100-character message with no emojis uses 1 credit.
A 100-character message with one emoji uses 2 credits.
Even a single emoji can change the encoding for the entire message.
Default Emoji Behavior in Whippy
Emojis are disabled by default in Whippy.
This helps organisations avoid unexpected credit increases.
Emojis can be enabled or disabled at any time from organisation billing settings.
Step-by-Step: Enable or Disable Emojis in Whippy
Click Settings in the top-right corner of the navigation bar.
In the left-side menu under Organisation, click Billing.
Scroll to the Billing controls section.
Toggle the setting to enable or disable emojis in SMS messages.
Changes apply immediately to SMS messaging.
Tips and Best Practices
Keep SMS messages emoji-free when possible to stay within one credit.
Use links instead of long text to reduce character count.
Review character and credit usage in the message editor before sending.
Disable emojis if multiple users send messages and credit control is important.
Test message content using the Twilio Messaging Segment Calculator to understand encoding and credit impact.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
Message costs more credits than expected | Emoji or special character included | Remove emojis or disable them in Billing settings |
Emojis not sending | Emojis disabled | Enable emojis in Billing controls |
Credit usage inconsistent | Mixed character sets | Standardise message content and avoid special characters |
Unexpected credit spend | Users adding emojis | Disable emojis organisation-wide |