Code Snippet to Disable WordPress Emoji Script

Disable WordPress Emoji Script

Custom Code Solution

Add this code to your theme's functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin. This code removes the WordPress emoji script and related resources to improve page load time:

function disable_wp_emojis() {
    remove_action('wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7);
    remove_action('admin_print_scripts', 'print_emoji_detection_script');
    remove_action('wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles');
    remove_action('admin_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles');
    remove_filter('the_content_feed', 'wp_staticize_emoji');
    remove_filter('comment_text_rss', 'wp_staticize_emoji');
    remove_filter('wp_mail', 'wp_staticize_emoji_for_email');

    // Remove the TinyMCE emojis
    add_filter('tiny_mce_plugins', 'disable_emojis_tinymce');
    
    // Remove emoji CDN hostname from DNS prefetching hints
    add_filter('wp_resource_hints', 'disable_emojis_remove_dns_prefetch', 10, 2);
}
add_action('init', 'disable_wp_emojis');

// Filter function to remove the TinyMCE emoji plugin
function disable_emojis_tinymce($plugins) {
    if (is_array($plugins)) {
        return array_diff($plugins, array('wpemoji'));
    }
    return array();
}

// Remove emoji CDN hostname from DNS prefetching hints
function disable_emojis_remove_dns_prefetch($urls, $relation_type) {
    if ('dns-prefetch' === $relation_type) {
        $urls = array_diff($urls, array('https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/'));
    }
    return $urls;
}

Plugin Solutions

If you prefer using a plugin, here are reliable options:

1. Disable Emojis - Simple plugin that removes emoji support
2. Asset CleanUp - More advanced plugin that can disable emojis along with other WordPress optimizations

Benefits

• Reduces HTTP requests
• Removes unnecessary JavaScript
• Improves page load time
• Cleaner source code

Important Notes

• This code is compatible with all WordPress versions
• Test your site after implementation to ensure no conflicts with other functionality
• If you're using a caching plugin, clear the cache after adding this code
• Some themes might have their own emoji implementations which this code won't affect