PHP : writing a simple removeEmoji function

It is also possible to remove the emojis using iconv. It's pretty similar to the solution based on mb_convert_encoding in this thread, but iconv offers the //IGNORE option, so there's no need to protect/restore the "?". The emojis are replaced with a space, so the function is replacing multiple consecutive spaces with a single one.

It only works well with texts that are Latin-9 + emoji

But:

It's about 100x faster than the best answer (as of dec. 2020),
For Latin texts, it's more reliable (the best answer leaves unwanted characters with some "Dark Skin Tone" emojis, for instance ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️ ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️ ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️ ð¤¦ð¿‍♀️ ð¤¦ð¿‍♂️ ð¤·ð¿‍♀️ ð¤·ð¿‍♂️ ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️ ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️ ðð¿ ðð¿‍♂️, or even ð¤),
Future emojis will also be removed.

function removeEmoji(string $text): string
{
    $text = iconv('UTF-8', 'ISO-8859-15//IGNORE', $text);
    $text = preg_replace('/\s+/', ' ', $text);
    return iconv('ISO-8859-15', 'UTF-8', $text);
}

I think the preg_replace function is the simpliest solution.

As EaterOfCode suggests, I read the wiki page and coded new regex since none of SO (or other websites) answers seemed to work for Instagram photo captions (API returning format) . Note: /u identifier is mandatory to match \x unicode chars.

public static function removeEmoji($text) {

    $clean_text = "";

    // Match Emoticons
    $regexEmoticons = '/[\x{1F600}-\x{1F64F}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexEmoticons, '', $text);

    // Match Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
    $regexSymbols = '/[\x{1F300}-\x{1F5FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexSymbols, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Transport And Map Symbols
    $regexTransport = '/[\x{1F680}-\x{1F6FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexTransport, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Miscellaneous Symbols
    $regexMisc = '/[\x{2600}-\x{26FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexMisc, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Dingbats
    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{2700}-\x{27BF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    return $clean_text;
}

The function does not remove all emojis since there are many more, but you get the point.

Please refer to unicode.org - full emoji list (thanks Epoc)

As apple continues to add emojis to new versions of ios, i will be updating and maintaining this answer.

This answer has been updated for ios 12.1. If you have problems, then please check the edit history for previous versions of this answer (having multiple regex in this answer exceeds SO's max post body length)

Beta Version for ios 12.1 (Nov, 2018)

public static function removeEmoji($string)
    return preg_replace('/[\x{1F3F4}](?:\x{E0067}\x{E0062}\x{E0077}\x{E006C}\x{E0073}\x{E007F})|[\x{1F3F4}](?:\x{E0067}\x{E0062}\x{E0073}\x{E0063}\x{E0074}\x{E007F})|[\x{1F3F4}](?:\x{E0067}\x{E0062}\x{E0065}\x{E006E}\x{E0067}\x{E007F})|[\x{1F3F4}](?:\x{200D}\x{2620}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F3F3}](?:\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F308})|[\x{0023}\x{002A}\x{0030}\x{0031}\x{0032}\x{0033}\x{0034}\x{0035}\x{0036}\x{0037}\x{0038}\x{0039}](?:\x{FE0F}\x{20E3})|[\x{1F415}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9BA})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F466}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F468}\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F468}\x{200D}\x{1F466}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F468}\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F468}\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F468}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F469}\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F469}\x{200D}\x{1F466}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F469}\x{200D}\x{1F467}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F469}\x{200D}\x{1F467})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F469}\x{200D}\x{1F466})|[\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{2764}\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F469})|[\x{1F469}\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{2764}\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F468})|[\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{2764}\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F48B}\x{200D}\x{1F469})|[\x{1F469}\x{1F468}](?:\x{200D}\x{2764}\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F48B}\x{200D}\x{1F468})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9BD})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9BC})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9AF})|[\x{1F575}\x{1F3CC}\x{26F9}\x{1F3CB}](?:\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{2640}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F575}\x{1F3CC}\x{26F9}\x{1F3CB}](?:\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{2642}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F692})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F680})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{2708}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F3A8})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F3A4})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F4BB})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F52C})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F4BC})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F3ED})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F527})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F373})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F33E})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{2696}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F3EB})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F393})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{2695}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F471}\x{1F64D}\x{1F64E}\x{1F645}\x{1F646}\x{1F481}\x{1F64B}\x{1F9CF}\x{1F647}\x{1F926}\x{1F937}\x{1F46E}\x{1F482}\x{1F477}\x{1F473}\x{1F9B8}\x{1F9B9}\x{1F9D9}\x{1F9DA}\x{1F9DB}\x{1F9DC}\x{1F9DD}\x{1F9DE}\x{1F9DF}\x{1F486}\x{1F487}\x{1F6B6}\x{1F9CD}\x{1F9CE}\x{1F3C3}\x{1F46F}\x{1F9D6}\x{1F9D7}\x{1F3C4}\x{1F6A3}\x{1F3CA}\x{1F6B4}\x{1F6B5}\x{1F938}\x{1F93C}\x{1F93D}\x{1F93E}\x{1F939}\x{1F9D8}](?:\x{200D}\x{2640}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9B2})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9B3})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9B1})|[\x{1F468}\x{1F469}](?:\x{200D}\x{1F9B0})|[\x{1F471}\x{1F64D}\x{1F64E}\x{1F645}\x{1F646}\x{1F481}\x{1F64B}\x{1F9CF}\x{1F647}\x{1F926}\x{1F937}\x{1F46E}\x{1F482}\x{1F477}\x{1F473}\x{1F9B8}\x{1F9B9}\x{1F9D9}\x{1F9DA}\x{1F9DB}\x{1F9DC}\x{1F9DD}\x{1F9DE}\x{1F9DF}\x{1F486}\x{1F487}\x{1F6B6}\x{1F9CD}\x{1F9CE}\x{1F3C3}\x{1F46F}\x{1F9D6}\x{1F9D7}\x{1F3C4}\x{1F6A3}\x{1F3CA}\x{1F6B4}\x{1F6B5}\x{1F938}\x{1F93C}\x{1F93D}\x{1F93E}\x{1F939}\x{1F9D8}](?:\x{200D}\x{2642}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F441}](?:\x{FE0F}\x{200D}\x{1F5E8}\x{FE0F})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FA}](?:\x{1F1FF})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1FA}](?:\x{1F1FE})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F8}](?:\x{1F1FD})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F7}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FF}](?:\x{1F1FC})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1FB})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F7}\x{1F1FB}](?:\x{1F1FA})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FE}](?:\x{1F1F9})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F7}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1FA}\x{1F1FC}](?:\x{1F1F8})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1F7})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F2}](?:\x{1F1F6})|[\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EF}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}](?:\x{1F1F5})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1EF}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F7}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1F4})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FA}\x{1F1FB}](?:\x{1F1F3})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1EF}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F4}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FA}\x{1F1FF}](?:\x{1F1F2})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1F1})|[\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1ED}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FD}](?:\x{1F1F0})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1EF})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EB}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1FB}](?:\x{1F1EE})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1ED})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FA}\x{1F1FB}](?:\x{1F1EC})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FC}](?:\x{1F1EB})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E9}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1EF}\x{1F1F0}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F7}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1FB}\x{1F1FE}](?:\x{1F1EA})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}](?:\x{1F1E9})|[\x{1F1E6}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EE}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FB}](?:\x{1F1E8})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F8}](?:\x{1F1E7})|[\x{1F1E7}\x{1F1E8}\x{1F1EA}\x{1F1EC}\x{1F1F1}\x{1F1F2}\x{1F1F3}\x{1F1F5}\x{1F1F6}\x{1F1F8}\x{1F1F9}\x{1F1FA}\x{1F1FB}\x{1F1FF}](?:\x{1F1E6})|[\x{00A9}\x{00AE}\x{203C}\x{2049}\x{2122}\x{2139}\x{2194}-\x{2199}\x{21A9}-\x{21AA}\x{231A}-\x{231B}\x{2328}\x{23CF}\x{23E9}-\x{23F3}\x{23F8}-\x{23FA}\x{24C2}\x{25AA}-\x{25AB}\x{25B6}\x{25C0}\x{25FB}-\x{25FE}\x{2600}-\x{2604}\x{260E}\x{2611}\x{2614}-\x{2615}\x{2618}\x{261D}\x{2620}\x{2622}-\x{2623}\x{2626}\x{262A}\x{262E}-\x{262F}\x{2638}-\x{263A}\x{2640}\x{2642}\x{2648}-\x{2653}\x{265F}-\x{2660}\x{2663}\x{2665}-\x{2666}\x{2668}\x{267B}\x{267E}-\x{267F}\x{2692}-\x{2697}\x{2699}\x{269B}-\x{269C}\x{26A0}-\x{26A1}\x{26AA}-\x{26AB}\x{26B0}-\x{26B1}\x{26BD}-\x{26BE}\x{26C4}-\x{26C5}\x{26C8}\x{26CE}-\x{26CF}\x{26D1}\x{26D3}-\x{26D4}\x{26E9}-\x{26EA}\x{26F0}-\x{26F5}\x{26F7}-\x{26FA}\x{26FD}\x{2702}\x{2705}\x{2708}-\x{270D}\x{270F}\x{2712}\x{2714}\x{2716}\x{271D}\x{2721}\x{2728}\x{2733}-\x{2734}\x{2744}\x{2747}\x{274C}\x{274E}\x{2753}-\x{2755}\x{2757}\x{2763}-\x{2764}\x{2795}-\x{2797}\x{27A1}\x{27B0}\x{27BF}\x{2934}-\x{2935}\x{2B05}-\x{2B07}\x{2B1B}-\x{2B1C}\x{2B50}\x{2B55}\x{3030}\x{303D}\x{3297}\x{3299}\x{1F004}\x{1F0CF}\x{1F170}-\x{1F171}\x{1F17E}-\x{1F17F}\x{1F18E}\x{1F191}-\x{1F19A}\x{1F201}-\x{1F202}\x{1F21A}\x{1F22F}\x{1F232}-\x{1F23A}\x{1F250}-\x{1F251}\x{1F300}-\x{1F321}\x{1F324}-\x{1F393}\x{1F396}-\x{1F397}\x{1F399}-\x{1F39B}\x{1F39E}-\x{1F3F0}\x{1F3F3}-\x{1F3F5}\x{1F3F7}-\x{1F3FA}\x{1F400}-\x{1F4FD}\x{1F4FF}-\x{1F53D}\x{1F549}-\x{1F54E}\x{1F550}-\x{1F567}\x{1F56F}-\x{1F570}\x{1F573}-\x{1F57A}\x{1F587}\x{1F58A}-\x{1F58D}\x{1F590}\x{1F595}-\x{1F596}\x{1F5A4}-\x{1F5A5}\x{1F5A8}\x{1F5B1}-\x{1F5B2}\x{1F5BC}\x{1F5C2}-\x{1F5C4}\x{1F5D1}-\x{1F5D3}\x{1F5DC}-\x{1F5DE}\x{1F5E1}\x{1F5E3}\x{1F5E8}\x{1F5EF}\x{1F5F3}\x{1F5FA}-\x{1F64F}\x{1F680}-\x{1F6C5}\x{1F6CB}-\x{1F6D2}\x{1F6D5}\x{1F6E0}-\x{1F6E5}\x{1F6E9}\x{1F6EB}-\x{1F6EC}\x{1F6F0}\x{1F6F3}-\x{1F6FA}\x{1F7E0}-\x{1F7EB}\x{1F90D}-\x{1F93A}\x{1F93C}-\x{1F945}\x{1F947}-\x{1F971}\x{1F973}-\x{1F976}\x{1F97A}-\x{1F9A2}\x{1F9A5}-\x{1F9AA}\x{1F9AE}-\x{1F9CA}\x{1F9CD}-\x{1F9FF}\x{1FA70}-\x{1FA73}\x{1FA78}-\x{1FA7A}\x{1FA80}-\x{1FA82}\x{1FA90}-\x{1FA95}]/u', '', $string);
}

Updated the correct answer with more codes, just a few emojis are left.

public static function removeEmoji($text) {

    $clean_text = "";

    // Match Emoticons
    $regexEmoticons = '/[\x{1F600}-\x{1F64F}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexEmoticons, '', $text);

    // Match Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
    $regexSymbols = '/[\x{1F300}-\x{1F5FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexSymbols, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Transport And Map Symbols
    $regexTransport = '/[\x{1F680}-\x{1F6FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexTransport, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Miscellaneous Symbols
    $regexMisc = '/[\x{2600}-\x{26FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexMisc, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Dingbats
    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{2700}-\x{27BF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    // Match Flags
    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{1F1E6}-\x{1F1FF}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    // Others
    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{1F910}-\x{1F95E}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{1F980}-\x{1F991}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{1F9C0}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    $regexDingbats = '/[\x{1F9F9}]/u';
    $clean_text = preg_replace($regexDingbats, '', $clean_text);

    return $clean_text;
}

PHP : writing a simple removeEmoji function

Tags:

Php

Emoji

Instagram

Related

Recent Posts