Table of Contents
Gem Wallet introduces emoji avatars for contacts - starting August 20, 2026, from version 2.114.10. You can now mark a saved contact with an emoji, and the icon shows up in your contact list and on the send confirmation screen.
What Is a Contact Emoji Avatar in Gem Wallet?
An emoji avatar is an icon you assign to a saved contact in Gem Wallet. It replaces the contact’s initials in the contact list and on the send confirmation screen.
For example, you send USDT to a friend and recognize them in your contact list by the emoji you picked: Gem Wallet has 76 icons - a diamond, a rocket, a unicorn, a crown, a key, a shield, a castle, and others. The same icon appears on the confirmation screen, so you see who the payment goes to before you send it.
We keep the address book simple for our users: an icon takes a couple of taps, and Gem Wallet stores names, addresses, and avatars on your device, with no cloud sync.
Benefits of Emoji Avatars in Gem Wallet
Gem Wallet is a mobile self-custody wallet with 100% open-source code for iOS and Android. Here is what emoji avatars give our users:
Full Self-Custody: Gem Wallet keeps your private keys on your device - your contacts and their avatars stay there too, and no middleman touches them.
Fully Open-Source Code: Gem Wallet’s code is 100% open and passed a CertiK audit in April 2026 - anyone can check how the app stores contacts.
Privacy by Default: No email, no phone number, no documents - Gem Wallet collects no personal data, and your contact list never goes to the cloud.
Recipient Check Before Signing: The icon you picked sits next to the amount on the confirmation screen, so you see who the transfer goes to before you sign it.
Contacts in 100+ Blockchains: One contact holds addresses in different blockchains - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and others - and one emoji covers all of them.
Protection From Address Poisoning: Sending to a saved contact with an icon removes the risk of copying a scammer’s address from your transfer history - we explain how the scheme works in Address Poisoning Is No Longer a Problem.
How to Add an Emoji Avatar to a Contact
- Open Gem Wallet and go to Settings → Contacts
- Pick the contact you need and open it for editing
- Tap the avatar and choose an emoji
- Save the contact - the icon appears in your contact list and on the send confirmation screen
You can change the emoji at any time, and to remove it, tap the x badge on the avatar: the contact stays in place and shows its initials again.
Resources for Developers
The code behind the feature is fully open, and anyone can read it line by line:
📖 Emoji Avatars for Contacts Pull Request on GitHub
Conclusion
We keep building on Contacts in Gem Wallet - emoji avatars are already available to our users on iOS and Android. Open Gem Wallet, mark your frequent contacts with an emoji, and send crypto privately and securely.
