How to completely delete the history of emoticons on Android: from standard methods to hidden settings

Emojis have become an integral part of communication in instant messengers, but their history on Android often turns into chaos: repeated emoji, irrelevant combinations and random symbols that the keyboard persistently offers first. If you notice that your smartphone has “remembered” emoticons that you haven’t used for a long time, or you just want to start from scratch, this article will help you figure out how to clear the history of emoji on any device running Android 10–15.

The problem is that manufacturers (including Samsung, Xiaomi, Google and OnePlus) implement storage of emoticon history in different ways. In some places this is a built-in keyboard function, and in others it is part of the system settings. We tested all the current methods and collected them in one guide, including hidden methods for stock Android and custom firmwarewhich are not described in the official documentation.

Important: some methods require resetting the keyboard or clearing the cache - this may affect other saved data (for example, custom words in a dictionary). We will indicate which methods are safe and where backups are required.

1. Standard reset of emoji history in keyboard settings

Most modern keyboards for Android (including Gboard, Samsung Keyboard i SwiftKey) allow you to clear emoji history directly in the settings menu. This method is the safest, as it does not affect other data.

Instructions for Gboard (standard keyboard on most smartphones):

1. Open any text input field (for example, in WhatsApp or Telegram).
2. Tap the icon ⚙️ in the top panel of the keyboard to open the settings.
3. Go to section Dictionary → History of emoticons.
4. Click Clear history and confirm the action.

For Samsung Keyboard the path will be different:

• 📱 Go to Settings → General controls → Samsung Keyboard.
• 🔍 Select Emojis and stickers → Emoji history.
• 🗑️ Press Delete history (PIN code confirmation may be required).

If your keyboard does not have an explicit “Emoji History” item, try looking for the section Personalization or Artificial Intelligence - sometimes the function is hidden there under the name Adaptive Emoji or Frequently used.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI (for example, on Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5) a standard reset may not work due to the peculiarities of the keyboard integration with the system. In this case, proceed to the next method.

2. Clearing the cache and keyboard data through the Android settings

If a standard reset did not help or your keyboard does not provide such an option, you can forcefully clear its cache and data. This is a radical method that will delete all input historyincluding frequently used words and personalized sentences.

Step-by-step guide:

1. Open Settings → Applications.
2. Find your keyboard in the list (for example, Gboard, Samsung Keyboard or SwiftKey).
3. Go to Storage → Clear cache.
4. If the emoji are still showing, go back and press Clear data (this will reset all keyboard settings!).

Take screenshots of frequently used words (if necessary)

Remember the keyboard theme

Disable synchronization of the dictionary with your Google account (if enabled)

Check if there is a backup copy of the settings-->

After clearing the data, the keyboard will have to be configured again: select a language, theme, enable or disable key sounds and etc. But this method is guaranteed to delete the entire emoji history, including those that could be saved in the background.

Keyboard	Path to the emoticon history settings	Is data clearing required?
Gboard	Dictionary → History of emoticons	No (a standard reset is sufficient)
Samsung Keyboard	Emoticons and stickers → History of emoticons	Sometimes (if the reset did not work)
SwiftKey (Microsoft)	Settings → Personalization → Clear data	Yes (full reset)
Xiaomi GetApps Keyboard	No separate section	Yes (only clear data)

⚠️ Attention: On devices with Android 14+ and a keyboard Gboard after clearing the data, you may need to restart the smartphone for the changes to take effect. Otherwise, the emoticon history may be displayed again after a few hours.

3. Google account

If you use Gboard and are logged in through your account Google, the history of emoticons can be synchronized with the cloud. In this case, standard cleaning on the device will not help - you need to reset the data in the account settings.

How to do it. do:

1. Open Google account settings in the browser.
2. Go to the section Data and personalization → Advertising settings → Manage data activities.
3. Find the item Application data → Gboard.
4. Delete data on Stories of emoticons or perform a complete personalization reset.

This method is relevant for users who notice that the emoji history is restored after clearing on the device. It is also useful if you want to reset emoji suggestions on all devices where you use the same account Google.

4. Manually deleting emoji history files (for advanced users)

On some firmwares (for example, on ColorOS from Oppo/Realme or custom ROM type LineageOS) the history of emoticons is stored in separate system files. They can be deleted manually, but this will require root access or use ADB.

If you have root, follow these steps:

1. Install a file manager with root support (for example, Root Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Go to the path:

   /data/data/com.google.android.inputmethod.latin/shared_prefs/

   (for Gboard) or

   /data/data/com.sec.android.inputmethod/.samsungkeyboard/

   (for Samsung Keyboard).

3. Find files with names like: emoji_history.xml, emoji_frec.xml, user_history.db.
4. Delete them and reboot the device.

For users without root, you can try deleting via ADB:

adb shell pm clear com.google.android.inputmethod.latin

This command will completely reset settings Gboard, including the history of emoticons.

What happens if you delete the wrong files?

Deleting system files without root can cause the keyboard to crash or even make it impossible to enter text. Always make a backup copy before manual manipulation. If the keyboard stops working, reinstall it. via Google Play or reset the settings to factory settings.

⚠️ Attention: The interface and file paths may vary depending on the Android version and firmware. On some devices (for example, Huawei s EMUI) emoticon history. is encrypted and cannot be deleted manually without special tools.

5. Resetting all keyboard settings to factory settings

If none of the previous methods worked, a radical solution remains - a complete reset of the keyboard. This will delete not only the history of emoticons, but also all user settings, including:

• 🔤 Saved words in the dictionary
• 🎨 Selected design theme
• ⚙️ Autocorrect and autocorrection settings
• 🔑 Google account synchronization data

How to reset:

1. Open Settings → Applications.
2. Find your keyboard in the list and open its page.
3. Click Storage → Delete data (do not confuse with Clear cache!).
4. Confirm the action. The keyboard will return to factory settings.

After the reset you will have to again:

• 🌐 Select input languages
• 🎵 Set up key sounds (if necessary)
• 🔄 Enable or disable text prediction
• 🔒 Log in to your account again Google (if synchronization was used)

6. data-i="179">If you do not want the keyboard to remember frequently used emoji at all, you can disable this feature in the settings. This will not clear the already saved history, but will prevent it from accumulating in the future.

If you don't want the keyboard to remember your frequently used emoji at all, you can disable this feature in Settings. This will not clear existing history, but will prevent it from accumulating in the future.

For Gboard:

1. Open the keyboard settings (⚙️ icon in the input panel).
2. Go to Settings → Text suggestions.
3. Disable the option Show frequently used emoticons.

For Samsung Keyboard:

1. Go in Settings → General controls → Samsung Keyboard.
2. Select Emojis and stickers → Emoji settings.
3. Disable Adaptive emoticons or Emoji history.

On some keyboards (for example SwiftKey), the emoji history feature is linked to general artificial intelligence. To disable it, you will have to:

1. Go to Settings → Personalization.
2. Disable Input-based learning or Adaptive suggestions.

The disadvantage of this method is that along with the history of emoticons, other “smart” keyboard functions, such as autocorrect and word prediction, will be disabled. If functionality is important to you, it is better to periodically clear the history manually (once every 1-2 months).

7. Features of cleaning on different firmware. Android

Smartphone manufacturers often modify standard Android functions, so methods for clearing emoticon history may differ. We have collected key nuances for popular brands:

Firmware / Brand	Cleaning features	Additional actions
MIUI (Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO)	The standard reset often does not work. Clearing the keyboard data is required.	After the reset, reboot the device, otherwise the history may be restored.
One UI (Samsung)	The history of emoticons may be synchronized with your account Samsung.	Check your account settings Samsung in Settings → Accounts and Archiving.
ColorOS (Oppo/Realme)	The emoji history function may be disabled by default.	If the emoticons are not cleared, try changing the keyboard to Gboard.
EMUI (Huawei/Honor)	No a separate section for the history of emoticons.	Use clearing the cache or resetting the keyboard data Huawei SwiftKey.
Stock Android (Pixel, Motorola)	The easiest cleaning via Gboard.	If there are problems, check for keyboard updates in Google Play.

If your brand is not in the table, try the universal method:

1. Install Gboard from Google Play and make it the default keyboard.
2. Clear the history of emoticons through settings Gboard (as described in the first section).
3. Return to the native keyboard if necessary.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with Android Go (for example, Nokia 1.4 or Samsung Galaxy A03 Core) the emoticon history function may not exist at all due to limited firmware capabilities.

Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to clear the emoticon history without resetting all keyboard settings?

Yes, but only on some keyboards. For example, In Gboard i Samsung Keyboard there is a separate section for resetting the emoji history. On MIUI i ColorOS a complete data clearing is often required.

Why does the emoji history appear again after clearing?

Most likely, you have synchronization enabled with your account Google or Samsung. Disable it in the keyboard settings or reset the data in the cloud (section 3 of the article).

Are there applications for clearing the history of emoticons?

There are no specialized applications for this task, but you can use SD Maid or CCleaner to clear the keyboard cache. However, they do not guarantee the deletion of emoji history.

How to clear the history of emoticons in a specific messenger (for example, WhatsApp)?

Emoji history is stored in the keyboard, not in instant messengers. Clearing chat in WhatsApp or Telegram will not affect emoji suggestions. Use the methods from this article.

Is it possible to restore an accidentally cleared emoji history?

No, if you reset the keyboard data or deleted the files manually. The emoji history is not backed up and restored. The only way is to “train” the keyboard again, often using the necessary emoticons.