Twitter Advertisers Can Target You Based on Emoji Use

Twitter will soon start targeting you based on the kinds of emoji you use in your posts. That's not a bad thing per se; in fact, you might not even realize Twitter is doing it. Unless, of course, you see ads for plumbing after your creative use of one particular emoji.

"Now, advertisers can target people who have recently Tweeted or engaged with Tweets featuring emojis with the help of select Twitter Official Partners: AdParlor, Amobee, HYFN, Perion,SocialCode, and 4C. This new feature uses emoji activity as a signal of a person's mood or mindset — unlocking unique opportunities for marketers," reads Twitter's description.

The move isn't that monumental if you consider the fact that emoji are really just graphical representations of words. So, if you're feeling sad on Twitter and post a tweet indicating that, it's possible you might get hit with advertising that's trying to target your particular mood. That's exactly what emoji-driven advertising will do, too. We only hope it's a bit more subtle than "if crying face, advertise Kleenex"

According to Twitter, more than 110 billion emoji have been tweeted on the service since 2014. The company also notes that an emoji was the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year for 2015—as in, the actual crying-face emoji was the "word of the year," not the word "emoji" itself.

"Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens – instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers. Even Hillary Clinton solicited feedback in the form of emojis, and [crying face emoji] has had notable use from celebrities and brands alongside everyone else – and even appeared as the caption to the Vine which apparently kicked off the popularity of the term on fleek, which appears on our WOTY shortlist," read a November blog post from the Oxford Dictionary.

Our advice to potential Twitter advertisers: avoid building a campaign around the eggplant.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.