Face Blowing a Kiss

It signals affection; the relationship decides the romance.

With a partner it reads as intimacy. Between close friends or relatives it is everyday warmth, thanks or a kiss goodbye. In a new or undefined relationship, the wink and flying heart make flirting plausible, but one blown kiss proves nothing.

Placement shifts the force: at the end of a message it closes the chat like a hug at the door; sent alone, with no words, it asks for a warmer reading.

Someone sent me 😘 — what should I read into it?

Their habits and words, not the emoji alone.

If they sign off this way with everyone, your kiss is routine. A first-ever 😘 after a personal compliment is more plausibly flirtatious. Don't guess intent from their gender alone. Reply with exactly the warmth you want to return; mirroring the kiss accepts its tone.

Where did 😘 come from?

From Japanese mobile-carrier emoji, before Unicode.

Emoji began as separate picture sets made by Japanese phone companies: SoftBank had one by 1997, and this face appears on early SoftBank keyboards by 2000. The pictures added tone to short phone messages that lacked facial cues. After a 2009 proposal, Unicode added them in 2010 so one carrier's code would not arrive elsewhere as the wrong symbol or an empty box.

Readings still vary by place. A 2020 Malaysian study found a shared “kiss” and “love you” reading plus local ones such as teasing, missing someone and thanks. A 2018 study of Omani WhatsApp chats found 😘 sometimes used, like 👍, simply to show approval.