Modern workplace communication thrives on personal expression, team culture, and quick visual feedback. While Microsoft Teams provides a comprehensive standard library of emojis and reaction icons, organisations often benefit from custom symbols representing team mascots, internal project codenames, company logos, and industry shorthand. With the introduction of custom emojis and reactions in Microsoft Teams, users and administrators can upload bespoke graphic emblems that seamlessly integrate into chat messages, channel threads, and reaction bars.
Mastering custom emojis allows team members to reinforce company culture, standardise rapid approvals, and celebrate milestones with personalised visuals.
Requirements and Administrative Policies
Before creating custom emojis in Microsoft Teams, ensure your account and tenant configurations support the feature:
- Teams Client: Available in the modern Microsoft Teams client on Windows, macOS, and the web app.
- Administrative Permissions: By default, tenant administrators control whether users can create custom emojis via the Microsoft Teams admin centre > Messaging policies. Admins can restrict upload rights to specific security groups or disable the feature globally.
- Image Specifications: Uploaded images should be square format (1:1 aspect ratio), less than 256 KB in file size, and formatted as PNG, JPG, or animated GIF with a transparent background for optimal appearance across light and dark themes.
Uploading Custom Emojis in Microsoft Teams
If your organisation permits emoji creation, uploading a new icon takes only seconds from any active chat window:
- Open Microsoft Teams and enter any one-on-one chat, group chat, or channel conversation.
- In the message compose box at the bottom of the window, click the Emoji button.
- At the top of the emoji picker, click the organisation category tab (represented by your company logo or a custom icon badge).
- Click the Add emoji button (the + icon) in the bottom-right corner of the picker.
- Click Upload an image in the dialogue box and browse to select your graphic.
- Assign an exact Shortcode for the emoji (for instance,
:approved:or:rocket_ship:). The shortcode must use lower-case letters, numbers, or underscores, surrounded by colons. - Enter an accessible text description for screen readers.
- Click Add emoji to publish the icon to your organisation's library.
Using Custom Emojis in Messages and Reactions
Once created, custom emojis are immediately available to all colleagues within your tenant:
Typing Inline via Shortcode
Type your designated shortcode directly into any message text box:
Please review the quarterly roadmap :approved:Teams renders a live autocomplete menu as you type the opening colon and characters. Press Tab or Enter to insert the custom image inline.
Reacting to Messages with Custom Icons
- Hover your mouse over any incoming message in a chat or channel.
- In the floating reaction bubble, click the More reactions button (represented by an emoji with a plus sign).
- Navigate to your organisation's custom emoji section.
- Select your custom emoji to add it as a message reaction.
- Hovering over the reaction pill below the message reveals which colleagues reacted with that specific custom icon.
Managing and Deleting Custom Emojis
To keep the organisation's emoji repository organised and remove outdated campaign graphics:
User-Level Management
Users can delete custom emojis they personally uploaded:
- Open the emoji picker and select the organisation tab.
- Hover over the emoji you created.
- Click the small trash can icon or right-click to select Delete emoji.
- Confirm the removal. The emoji will no longer appear in search suggestions or the picker, though historical messages already containing the image remain intact.
Administrator Governance
IT administrators can audit, download, or permanently purge inappropriate or unapproved emojis across the entire tenant by navigating to Teams admin centre > Messaging > Custom emojis, providing centralized moderation and brand compliance.