Google is apparently bringing a bit of Apple's style into its roster of emojis.
Emojipedia reported on Thursday that new emojis will be coming to some Android phones next week -- but The Huffington Post noticed that some updates have already hit Google Hangouts, the messaging program you probably use to talk to your friends in Gmail. (Most of us call it Gchat.)
Previously, the emojis in Google Hangouts had their own distinct character. For example, the "raised hands" emoji (🙌) displayed as a gumdrop-looking character celebrating:
Now, that same emoji has been replaced with simple hands. It looks pretty much the same as Apple's emoji:
Similarly, a grimacing emoji looks closer to Apple's version, as does the poop, which used to display as a stinky swirl on Google Hangouts but now appears closer to the smiling brown turd we all love.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new emojis, so it's unclear if everyone has access to them yet. HuffPost checked a few separate accounts Thursday to see if they did, and indeed the update had rolled out to them.
To see if you have access, click the smiley face icon in your Gchat window.
It's unclear why Google is updating its emoji characters, but there's at least one possible reason: If emojis don't look uniform across platforms, then your message might be misconstrued. For examples of this in action, check out a cool comparison post Motherboard published last month.
Moving forward, it's likely that emojis will look about the same on Android handsets and iPhones, so you won't have to sweat scowling at a friend when you really just meant to look surprised.