You’ve seen it. You’ve probably used it. The heart within a heart emoji—officially known in the Unicode Standard as the "Heart Decoration"—is that little pink or red square with a white heart shape cut out of the center. Or maybe you're thinking of the "Growing Heart" that looks like three hearts stacked inside each other. People mix them up constantly. Honestly, it's a mess.
If you look at your keyboard right now, you’ll see dozens of heart variations. There’s the Sparking Heart, the Heart with Ribbon, and the heavy black heart that somehow turned red on most platforms. But the heart within a heart emoji occupies a weirdly specific niche in our digital vocabulary. It isn’t just about "love." It’s about the vibe of the love.
The Unicode History of the Heart Within a Heart Emoji
Back in 1993, long before we were sending memes on TikTok, Unicode 1.1 was released. This was the primordial soup of digital symbols. Among the early additions was the "Heart Decoration" (U+2761). It wasn't meant to be an "emoji" in the way we think of them today. It was a dingbat.
Dingbats were typographic ornaments used by printers to spruce up a page. Think of the old Microsoft Wingdings font. That’s where this little guy started his life. When Apple and Google began integrating Japanese emoji sets into global smartphones around 2010, they had to map these old typographic symbols to new, colorful icons.
The design evolved differently across platforms. On older iPhones, it looked like a literal floral ornament. Now, it's more standardized. On most devices, it appears as a vibrant pink or purple square with a heart-shaped hole in the middle. It’s static. It doesn’t pulse like the "Beating Heart" or stack like the "Growing Heart." It just... sits there. Being decorative.
Why Does Everyone Call It the Wrong Thing?
Language is weird. We often call it the "Heart of Heart" emoji because it looks like a heart nested inside a frame. But if you search for that term on Emojipedia, you might get redirected.
The "Growing Heart" (💗) is the one most people actually mean when they talk about a "heart within a heart." That one features three hearts of increasing size. It represents a heart that is literally expanding with emotion. It’s for when you’re so happy your chest might explode.
Then there’s the "Two Hearts" (💕), where one heart circles the other. That’s "love is in the air." It’s flirty. It’s light.
The actual heart within a heart emoji (the decoration one) is more formal. Because it originated as a printer’s ornament, it carries a certain weight of "design." It’s less about the raw emotion of falling in love and more about the aesthetic of love. Use it when you’re posting a photo of a perfectly latte-art-ed coffee or a curated bookshelf. It’s the "Instagrammable" heart.
Platform Differences: A UX Nightmare
Have you ever sent an emoji from an Android to an iPhone and it looked totally different? It's the worst.
For the heart within a heart emoji, the discrepancy used to be huge.
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- Google/Android: Used to lean into a very flat, 2D look.
- Apple: Added shadows and gradients to make it pop.
- Microsoft: Often uses a thick black outline that makes it look like a sticker.
- Samsung: Historically had a very bubbly, almost "candy-like" aesthetic.
If you’re sending this emoji to a crush, you should know that what looks like a sophisticated design choice on your Pixel might look like a weird, blocky stamp on their iPhone. Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, has often noted that these cross-platform differences lead to "emoji miscommunication." You think you’re being chic; they think you’re being retro.
The Psychology of Choosing This Emoji Over the Red Heart
The classic Red Heart (❤️) is the nuclear option. It’s heavy. It’s intense. It’s "I love you" to a spouse or a parent.
Using the heart within a heart emoji is a way to soften the blow. It’s a "soft-launch" heart. It says "I like this" or "This is cute" without the baggage of the standard red heart. Psychologically, we use nested symbols to indicate layers. A heart inside a frame or a heart growing inside another heart implies a process. It’s not just a state of being; it’s a feeling that has been constructed or is developing.
Social media analyst Taylor Lorenz has often touched on how Gen Z uses emojis ironically or with very specific subcultural meanings. In some circles, the more "boring" or "dated" an emoji looks, the more cool it is to use. The Heart Decoration falls perfectly into this category. It feels a bit like a 90s scrapbook. It’s nostalgic.
It’s Actually Not Always About Romance
Let's get real. If you’re using the heart within a heart emoji in a professional Slack channel, you aren't hitting on your boss. (Hopefully.)
In professional or semi-professional settings, this emoji serves as a "thank you" or a "job well done." It’s more decorative than emotional. It functions as a bullet point.
- Finishing a project.
- Organizing a group lunch.
- Just generally being a "vibe" in the office.
It lacks the romantic heat of the standard heart. It’s "safe."
Misconceptions and "Emoji Scams"
There is a weird myth floating around certain corners of the internet that some heart emojis are "secret codes" for illicit activity. You might have seen those viral "Parental Guides" that claim the heart within a heart emoji means someone is looking for a specific type of drug or a secret meet-up.
Usually? That’s total nonsense.
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While some emojis are definitely used as slang (we all know what the eggplant means), most of these "decoder rings" are just moral panic. For 99.9% of the population, the heart within a heart emoji just means "I think this graphic design is neat." Don't let a Facebook chain letter convince you that your niece is in a gang because she used a pink square heart.
How to Use It Without Being Cringe
The key to not being "emoji cringe" is context.
If you’re overusing it, it loses its power. Don’t put five of them in a row. One is enough. It’s a punctuation mark, not a wallpaper.
Try pairing it with other "soft" emojis. It looks great next to the Sparkles (✨) or the Cloud (☁️). This creates a cohesive aesthetic. It tells the reader that you care about the visual presentation of your message.
Also, consider the background. Because the heart within a heart emoji is often a negative-space design (the heart is "cut out"), it looks best on platforms with a dark mode. The contrast makes the heart shape jump out. On a white background, it can sometimes look a bit washed out or like a smudge if the screen brightness is low.
The Future of the Nested Heart
Unicode adds new emojis every year. We recently got the "Shaking Face" and the "Pink Heart" (finally, just a plain pink heart!). With every new addition, the older ones like the heart within a heart emoji get pushed further down the list.
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But they don’t disappear.
In fact, as the emoji library grows to thousands of icons, these older "decoration" emojis are seeing a resurgence among people who want to stand out. Everyone uses the Red Heart. It’s boring. It’s default. Using the heart within a heart emoji shows you actually scrolled down. It shows intent.
Practical Steps for Your Digital Communication
If you want to master the art of the heart within a heart emoji, here is how you should actually deploy it in the wild:
- Check the Platform: Before you send it in a high-stakes text, long-press it on your keyboard to see the variations. If you’re on a desktop, it might look like a black-and-white symbol. If so, skip it.
- Use it for Curation: Use this specific heart when you are sharing something you find aesthetically pleasing—a sunset, a piece of art, or a well-plated meal.
- Contrast with the Growing Heart: If you are trying to show excitement, use the Growing Heart (the triple heart). If you are trying to show "this is pretty," use the heart within a heart (the decoration square).
- Avoid the "Code" Fear: Don't worry about secret meanings. Unless you are in a very specific subculture that has assigned a new meaning to it, it’s just a heart.
- Pair with Text: Don't let it stand alone if the meaning is ambiguous. A simple "Love this ✨" followed by the heart within a heart emoji is much clearer than just the symbol by itself.
The digital world moves fast, but the symbols we use to express affection are surprisingly old. The heart within a heart emoji is a bridge between the old world of typography and the new world of instant, visual communication. It’s a bit weird, a bit misunderstood, but it’s a classic for a reason. Use it wisely. Use it for the vibes. Just don't call it a "Growing Heart" when it's clearly a "Decoration."
Next time you're about to hit send on a standard red heart, take a second. Scroll down. Find that little pink square. Give your message a bit of that 1993 typographic flair. It’s a small way to make your digital interactions feel a bit more thoughtful and a lot more interesting.