Disable WordPress Emoji Scripts with a Code Snippet

Disable WordPress Emoji Scripts

Custom Code Solution

Add this code to your theme's functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin. This code removes emoji-related scripts and styles that WordPress adds by default:

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 DNS prefetch
    add_filter('emoji_svg_url', '__return_false');

    // Remove TinyMCE emojis
    add_filter('tiny_mce_plugins', 'disable_emojis_tinymce');
}
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();
}

This solution:

• Removes emoji detection script from front-end and admin
• Removes emoji styles
• Disables emoji in RSS feeds
• Removes emoji from emails
• Disables DNS prefetch for emoji
• Removes emoji support from TinyMCE editor

Plugin Solutions

If you prefer a plugin-based approach, here are reliable options:

1. Disable Emojis - Simple, lightweight plugin that only handles emoji removal
2. Asset CleanUp - More feature-rich plugin that can disable emojis along with other WordPress optimizations

Performance Impact

Disabling WordPress emojis can:

• Reduce HTTP requests
• Remove unnecessary JavaScript
• Decrease page load time
• Save approximately 14KB of data per page load

Additional Notes

• The code is safe to use and won't break any core WordPress functionality
• If you need emojis later, simply remove the code
• Some themes might already include similar functionality
• This solution works for WordPress 5.0 and above