Google is adding a bizarre ‘audio emoji’ feature including a fart button – here’s how you can try it

By William On May 6, 2024

If you’ve ever wanted to break the ice on a phone call, Google has the perfect tool for you.

The tech giant is introducing new ‘Audio Emoji’ in its ‘Phone by Google’ app that could catch your chat partner off guard.

As reported by 9to5googleTapping the emoji will send a five-second animation accompanied by a cheeky sound effect during a call.

Users can choose from a total of six emojis, including a clapping hand, a sad trombone (“wah wah wah!”) and a fart sound, indicated by the poop emoji.

Here’s how to try Audio Emoji, which seems to be a hit with users.

Users can choose from six audio emojis to play during conversations, from hand clapping to “party” and a fart sound, indicated by the poop emoji

Six new audio emojis

Clap
Laughing
Party
To cry
Poop
Sting (‘ba dum tss!’)

People took to social media to discuss the feature, with one Reddit user saying: ‘This is going to be so annoying, I love it!’

Another wrote: ‘Did anyone ask for this? No. Am I still going to use it? Yeah lol.”

Someone else posted: ‘Imagine calling your friend after you’ve been fired and talking to him about the stress you’re experiencing, and suddenly your friend starts playing weird audio emoji sounds.’

Yet another Reddit user called Audio Emoji a “great idea” because it could be used to deter scammers on the other end of the line

Another fan said that Google is essentially “bringing back MSN Winks – the animations that would fill most of your computer screen on MSN Messenger some twenty years ago.”

However, someone else on X (Twitter) seemed less impressed, saying that Google should instead “focus on making things better.”

According to the tech giant, the tool “allows you to express emotions and moods with sounds like applause, laughter, sad trombone and more with tappable emoji while on a call.”

This feature, which can be turned on and off, allows you to ‘better express emotions and moods with sounds’

To activate the feature, first make sure you have the Phone by Google app installed on your Android device.

However, if you want to use Phone by Google, you’ll need to agree to set it as your default phone app, which can replace the app you were already using.

Once you place a call, you should see a small pop-up button above the menu with the words ‘Audio Emoji’.

Tapping the button will reveal the six emoji options that you can press and annoy or amuse your chat partner.

The “Clap” emoji shows five pairs of hands clapping to the sound of cheering, while the “Laughter” emoji has corny canned laughter with an animation of inflatable tube dolls.

There is also whooping and cheering with balloons and confetti (‘Party’), a drum kit playing the classic sequence that follows a joke (‘Sting’) and the sad trombone sound (‘Crying’).

If you tap the “Poop” emoji, you’ll see an ice cream cone with a questionable brown spot in it fall to the ground, accompanied by a short fart sound.

According to 9to5google, the chosen sound effect will be heard on both sides of the phone call – although you can have a lot of fun by activating a sound effect and pretending you didn’t hear anything.

There’s also a setting to disable Audio Emoji completely, although it’s unclear whether you’ll still hear the sound effects if your chat partner has the feature enabled.

To disable, go to the menu indicated by the three dots, followed by Settings and then Audio Emoji.

Google tends to have its Phone by Google app pre-installed on its own Pixel smartphones. In the photo the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, released in 2023

Google’s latest Pixel phone is expected to be released in October, although the tech giant may preview it at its I/O event next week

If you can’t see Audio Emoji in the app yet, it should appear for all users in the coming weeks, according to 9to5google.

Google tends to have its Phone by Google app pre-installed on its own Pixel smartphones, while other Android devices (like Samsung) have a different default app pre-installed.

Google’s latest Pixel phone is expected to be released in October, although the tech giant may give a sneak preview at its I/O event on May 14.

Last year it released the £699 Pixel 8 and the £99 Pixel 8 Pro, as well as the Pixel Fold with an eye-watering £1,749 price tag.

Be careful with your emojis! Research shows that old people use emoticons incorrectly – and the meaning can vary from country to country

Older people are more likely to use emojis incorrectly and their meanings can vary greatly from country to country, a new study has found.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham found that older texters were less successful than younger people at matching emojis with the emotion they are supposed to represent.

This could mean that older people are more likely to send an inappropriate emoticon, such as a smiley face or an angry face, at the wrong time.

Woe to the grandchildren whose grandparents decide to make an eggplant casserole or a peach cobbler.

And when your great aunt sends you a sweaty, red-faced emoji with its tongue sticking out, all she means is that the air conditioning needs to be on.