EMOJIS have now become a part of our daily lives but - despite their popularity - there are still some questions over what some of them mean.
One often-used emoji is the smirking face, but its meaning can differ depending on the situation.
What does the smirk emoji mean?
The smirk emoji is a yellow face with a sly or smug facial expression.
The emoji has also been described as mischievous, or suggestive.
The face is half-smiling, has raised eyebrows, and its eyes are looking to the side.
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According to emojipedia.com, the smirk emoji is often used to convey flirtation or sexual innuendo.
It is a popular emoji on dating apps such as Tinder.
In 2017, the dating app Clover analysed the use of emoji in their messaging service.
They found that the smirking face was the most common emoji sent to women by men.
In other situations, however, the smirking emoji can also mean someone is feeling smug or self-satisfied.
It can also be used to convey the feeling that someone is joking.
On Snapchat, the smirking emoji represents a contact who snaps you a lot but who you don't snap back.
The social media platform used to have a best friends list to show you who you were contacting the most but the emojis now represent your relationship with your friends and acquaintances.
When was the smirk emoji released?
The smirking face was first released back in 2010.
It then made its way onto Twitter the following year.
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New emojis are often released alongside iOS updates.
Some of the latest emojis to be added include a shaking face, a goose, a hyacinth, and a plain pink heart.
Despite all the new additions, the emoji showing a face crying with joyful laughter is still the most popular.
The crying face is also one of the most-used.
Examples of the smirk emoji
As previously noted, the smirk emoji can often be used to convey a flirty message.
It can also be used when the user if feeling smug, perhaps after having been proven right about something.
In some cases, the smirking emoji may be used by someone to show that they are joking or kidding.