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Disable Emojis
Disable the WordPress emoji functionality to improve performance and privacy.
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 108
- Active installs
- 60k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 5 Jun 2026
- Added
- Mar 2015
- Requires WP
- 4.8
- Tested up to
- WP 7.0.4
- Downloads
- 1,234,048
Our analysis
AI-assistedDisable Emojis (GDPR friendly) is a WordPress plugin that removes the emoji functionality from WordPress, aimed at reducing unnecessary code bloat and improving site performance. It disables various scripts and styles associated with emojis, preventing extra HTTP requests and enhancing privacy by stopping DNS prefetching to the emoji CDN.
This plugin is suitable for users who want to streamline their WordPress site by eliminating emoji support, particularly those concerned about performance and GDPR compliance. It is designed for sites running PHP 7.4 or higher and WordPress 5.0 or later.
Best for: This plugin is best for WordPress site owners looking to enhance performance and privacy by disabling emoji functionality.
What it does well
- ✓Removes unnecessary emoji-related code
- ✓Improves site performance by reducing HTTP requests
- ✓Enhances privacy by disabling DNS prefetching
- ✓Does not send data to external servers
- ✓Compatible with modern browsers
Where it falls short
- •Does not provide detailed legal advice on GDPR compliance
- •May not suit users who want to keep emoji support
Verdict
Disable Emojis (GDPR friendly) effectively streamlines WordPress by removing unnecessary emoji features. It is a straightforward solution for those prioritising performance and GDPR compliance.
From the developer
Ryan Hellyer's own description of Disable Emojis, lightly tidied.
This plugin disables the WordPress emoji functionality, removing unnecessary code bloat that adds support for emojis in older browsers.
What it does
- Removes the emoji detection script from
wp_headand the admin - Removes emoji styles from
wp_print_stylesand admin - Removes emoji DNS prefetching, preventing connections to
s.w.org - Removes the
wpemojiTinyMCE plugin - Strips emoji CDN hostname from DNS prefetch hints
Performance & Privacy
Emojis will still display in modern browsers that have built-in support. This plugin simply removes the extra HTTP requests and JavaScript overhead for browsers that don’t need it. Additionally, it prevents DNS prefetching to WordPress.org’s emoji CDN, improving privacy.
Note: Emoticons like :) will continue to work as expected.
Requirements
- PHP 7.4+
- WordPress 5.0+
GDPR compliancy
This plugin does not send any data to external servers. It disables DNS prefetching of emojis within WordPress, which should ensure improved privacy. To determine if your site is GDPR compliant, please seek legal advice. I have done my best to ensure the plugin is 100% GDPR compliant, but I am not a lawyer so cannot guarantee anything.
Architecture
The plugin uses:
Quality
All code uses declare(strict_types=1) and follows PSR-12. The plugin runs the following tooling:
- PHP_CodeSniffer (run via
composer phpcs) — sniffs for PSR-12 violations - PHP-CS-Fixer (run via
composer cs) — dry-run style check - PHPStan at level 6 (run via
composer phpstan) — static analysis
Tagged as
feature
GDPR Ready
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