Universal method
Copy 🤝 and paste it into the destination. This works in most modern browsers, documents, email clients and social apps and is useful when an emoji picker is hard to navigate. If it becomes a square box, the destination system lacks compatible rendering.
Windows
Click a text field and press Windows key + period. Search for “handshake” or browse the people category. Select the result. In applications without color emoji support, the character may appear monochrome but remain copyable.
macOS
Press Control + Command + Space to open Character Viewer. Search for handshake, choose the result and insert it at the cursor. Frequently used characters can be saved inside the viewer for faster access.
iPhone and iPad
Enable the Emoji keyboard in Settings if needed. Open the keyboard, tap the emoji icon, search for handshake or browse gestures, then tap 🤝. Press and hold supported variants to choose skin tones.
Android
Open the installed keyboard’s emoji panel and use search. Gboard usually accepts the word handshake. Samsung Keyboard and other keyboards may organize it differently. Updating Android and the keyboard can improve mixed-tone support.
Chromebook
Right-click in a text field and choose Emoji, or use the supported ChromeOS keyboard shortcut for the emoji picker. Search for handshake and select it. Copy and paste remains a dependable alternative.
Linux
Emoji entry varies by desktop environment and application. GNOME systems may include a chooser, while others rely on app-specific pickers. A compatible color emoji font is needed for full-color rendering.
HTML and source code
In UTF-8 files, insert the character directly. HTML authors can also use 🤝 or 🤝. Include a UTF-8 charset declaration so browsers interpret the source correctly.
Typing on Chromebooks and Linux
On a Chromebook, open the emoji picker with Search + Shift + Space in supported text fields, then search for “handshake.” Linux methods vary by desktop environment and application. Many systems provide an emoji picker through the right-click menu or a keyboard shortcut, while browsers also accept a copied Unicode character. Keeping 🤝 in a small text note is a reliable fallback on any system.
What to do when search does not find it
Older keyboards may organize the symbol under people, gestures or activities instead of returning it immediately in search. Update the operating system and keyboard app, then try the base word “handshake” rather than a longer phrase. You can also copy the character from this site. If a mixed skin-tone version displays as separate symbols, use the base handshake or update the receiving device.
Typing versus downloading
Typing inserts a live Unicode character that behaves like text. It is ideal for messages, documents, forms and captions. Downloading creates a PNG image for slides, thumbnails and layouts where fixed placement matters. The two formats are not interchangeable: a text field may reject images, while a design canvas may render the Unicode artwork differently from the device where it was created.