- The soft heart people send in rows
- Unicode 15.0 and the 2022 release of 🩵
- Light blue heart vs blue heart
- Pastel pairs, pride flags and baby news
- Decoding 🩵 from friends, family and followers
- Why there are now two blue hearts
- U+1FA75, HTML codes and screen readers
- Where 🩵 suits a brand's voice
- Frequently asked questions
The light blue heart emoji 🩵 shows soft, gentle affection. Emojipedia describes it as a light blue heart frequently used alongside other hearts, and says colour hearts often show an affinity with people, places, groups, objects or ideas linked to that colour. In chats it usually reads as calm support, a pastel aesthetic or love for something sky blue.
The light blue heart is the newer, paler sibling of the blue heart. It looks similar at a glance, but it's a separate emoji with its own feel: lighter, softer and more decorative. Here's what 🩵 tends to mean, when it arrived, how it differs from 💙, and the combinations you'll see it in most.
The soft heart people send in rows
Emojipedia's entry puts its main habit up front: a light blue heart, frequently used alongside other hearts. That's the most common way you'll see it, in a row of colours rather than on its own. When it does stand alone, it reads as gentle care, a little lighter than a red or blue heart.
Like other colour hearts, it also shows love for things in its colour. Sky and sea photos, baby blue outfits, pale blue nails and sky-blue team kits all get 🩵. It's the heart people reach for when they want something soft and fresh rather than strong.
Unicode 15.0 and the 2022 release of 🩵
Emojipedia says the light blue heart was approved as part of Unicode 15.0 in 2022 and added to Emoji 15.0 the same year. That release was recommended on September 13, 2022, and included 31 new emojis, with the plain pink heart as its headline addition.
Apple brought it to iPhones in iOS 16.4. Emojipedia's changelog for that update lists 🩷 Pink Heart, 🩵 Light Blue Heart and 🩶 Grey Heart among 31 new designs, and says the three together closed notable gaps in the heart colour range. Older phones that never updated may still show a blank box.
Light blue heart vs blue heart
This is the question most people are really asking. Wiktionary describes 🩵 as a stylised light blue, or cyan, heart and lists it as an alternative form of the blue heart 💙. So they're related, but not the same character.
| 💙 Blue Heart | 🩵 Light Blue Heart | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Deep blue | Pale blue, close to cyan |
| Emoji version | Emoji 0.6, one of the originals | Emoji 15.0 |
| Code point | U+1F499 | U+1FA75 |
| Typical feel | Steady, loyal, sometimes corporate | Soft, fresh, decorative |
| Shows on older phones | Yes | Not always |
In the Unicode emoji list, the light blue heart sits right after the blue heart and before the purple heart, which is roughly where you'll find it on most keyboards. That placement says a lot: it's designed as the step between blue and purple in the rainbow row, not a replacement for 💙.
Pastel pairs, pride flags and baby news
- 🩵🤍 Light blue and white: sky, clouds, a clean pastel look.
- 🩵🩷 Light blue and pink: soft pastel sets, often baby and gender reveal posts.
- 🩵🩷🤍 Light blue, pink and white: the colours of the transgender pride flag, used for support.
- 🩵💙 Light and dark blue together: a gradient, or a team with two blues.
Context tells you which reading fits. A gender reveal post and a pride post can use the same colours for very different reasons, so read the caption before you reply. For the pink half of those pairings, my guide to the pink heart emoji covers the heart that arrived alongside 🩵.
Decoding 🩵 from friends, family and followers
These are made-up messages to show the range:
- 'Thinking of you 🩵' Quiet, gentle support.
- 'Beach day 🩵🌊' Love for the sea and sky.
- 'It's a boy! 🩵' A baby announcement.
- '❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜' The full rainbow row, love for everyone.
If you're not sure how to read it, mirror it. Sending 🩵 back matches their tone without dialling it up or down.
Texts that pair a heart with a nickname are explained in our guide to bae.
Why there are now two blue hearts
Before 2022, the heart row jumped straight from green to deep blue. People who wanted a pale blue for skies, babies or pastel themes had to make do with 💙. Emojipedia's coverage of iOS 16.4 describes the new hearts as closing gaps in the colour spectrum, and the light blue one fills exactly that space.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Wiktionary's description of 🩵 as cyan is a useful clue too. It's not just a lighter blue; it leans slightly towards green. That's why it sits so comfortably next to the green heart in nature and seaside posts.
U+1FA75, HTML codes and screen readers
If you build websites or write emails in HTML, it helps to know the codes. Wiktionary lists the light blue heart as U+1FA75, with the HTML code 🩵. Its neighbour in code order is the grey heart, U+1FA76, which arrived in the same release.
The emoji also has an official text name, Light Blue Heart, which is what screen readers announce to people who can't see the screen. That's a good reason not to stack long rows of hearts in a caption: a screen reader will read every single one aloud. Two or three is plenty.
Another pale heart with a quieter message is explained in the grey heart emoji page.
Where 🩵 suits a brand's voice
The light blue heart suits brands with a fresh, calm or coastal feel: baby products, swimwear, travel, wellness, skincare, cleaning. It's a gentle way to thank a customer or react to a kind comment without the romance of a red heart. Because it's newer, don't make it the only thing carrying your message; a few followers on older phones won't see it. And if you're picking emojis for posts, my guide to the most popular emojis shows which ones your audience is most likely to recognise.
Frequently asked questions
What does the light blue heart emoji mean?
It shows soft, gentle affection, and Emojipedia says it's frequently used alongside other hearts.
Is the light blue heart the same as the blue heart?
No. They're separate emojis. Wiktionary lists 🩵 as an alternative form of 💙.
When did the light blue heart emoji come out?
Emojipedia says it was approved in Unicode 15.0 in 2022 and added to Emoji 15.0.
What does 🩵🩷🤍 mean?
Often support for transgender people, as those are the colours of the trans pride flag.
What's the code for the light blue heart?
Its code point is U+1FA75.
Why can't I see the light blue heart?
Older devices without Emoji 15.0 support may show a blank box instead.
