How do I restore recently used emojis on my iPhone keyboard?

The default iOS keyboard organizes emoji categories in the following order: Recent, Smileys, Animals, Food, Activities, Travel, Objects, Symbols, and Flags. This order is fixed and cannot be changed.

The Recents tab in the iOS Keyboard is not editable by the user. It dynamically updates based on the emojis or Memojis you frequently use or have used recently. If you stop using a particular emoji, it will gradually move out of the Recentslist as new ones are used.

Additional Notes:

• The list adapts automatically and reflects a combination of most frequently used and recently used emojis.
• You cannot manually pin or remove emojis from the Recents tab.
• If you'd like to reset it completely, you can go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary, but this will also erase predictive text and autocorrections you've taught the keyboard.

The "Recent" category dynamically updates based on the emojis you use most frequently, regardless of their original category. Additionally, the keyboard remembers the last emoji category you accessed. For instance, if you last selected an emoji from the "Food" category, the keyboard will reopen to that category the next time you use it.

Similarly, if you use emojis from the "Recent" category, the keyboard will default to that category the next time. This behavior adapts to your usage for convenience.