This study investigates individual differences in emoji comprehension across gender, age, and culture. A sample of 523 participants from the UK and China completed an emoji classification task, identifying six emotional expressions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, fearful, and disgusted) across four platforms (Apple, Android, WeChat, and Windows). Results showed that gender, age, and culture significantly influenced how emojis were classified. Women demonstrated higher accuracy in recognizing emotional expressions compared to men, particularly for negative emotions. Younger participants showed higher accuracy than older ones, though this was not consistently true for disgust. UK participants had higher accuracy than Chinese participants, with some effects partially mediated by familiarity with the emoji and platform. The study highlights the importance of context in emoji interpretation and suggests that cultural and age-related factors may affect how emojis are understood. These findings have implications for online communication, especially when interacting with people from different cultures or age groups. The study also underscores the need for further research into cultural differences in emoji use and interpretation across various contexts.This study investigates individual differences in emoji comprehension across gender, age, and culture. A sample of 523 participants from the UK and China completed an emoji classification task, identifying six emotional expressions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, fearful, and disgusted) across four platforms (Apple, Android, WeChat, and Windows). Results showed that gender, age, and culture significantly influenced how emojis were classified. Women demonstrated higher accuracy in recognizing emotional expressions compared to men, particularly for negative emotions. Younger participants showed higher accuracy than older ones, though this was not consistently true for disgust. UK participants had higher accuracy than Chinese participants, with some effects partially mediated by familiarity with the emoji and platform. The study highlights the importance of context in emoji interpretation and suggests that cultural and age-related factors may affect how emojis are understood. These findings have implications for online communication, especially when interacting with people from different cultures or age groups. The study also underscores the need for further research into cultural differences in emoji use and interpretation across various contexts.