Kimoji was a

smartphone app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

with

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

-themed pictograms. It was top seller on the

Apple App Store The App Store is an app marketplace developed and maintained by Apple, for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS SDK. Apps can be download ...

and spawned a

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

of celebrity emoji apps.

Content

The Kimoji app gave users a custom selection of over 250

-themed emojis and

animated GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , ) is a Raster graphics, bitmap Image file formats, image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released ...

s to use in messaging apps. Many of the icons are sexual in nature, depicting Kardashian's breasts and butt, but others include Kardashian crying, hearts, doughnuts, and kisses. Later additions included sexualized images such as an animated handprint slapped on a butt and an intimate couple in a shower.

Development

Kardashian promoted the app on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

the day of its launch, December 21, 2015. Kardashian said the project was in development for almost two years.

Reception and legacy

At its launch, the app had 9,000 downloads each second. The app earned $1 million per minute despite having mediocre initial App Store ratings. The Kimoji trademark led to a merchandise campaign selling products including pool floats,

Post-it A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-adhesion, tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to ...

notes shaped like Kardashian's butt, fragrances, and smartphone accessories. Kimoji spawned a cottage industry of celebrity emoji apps in 2016, including Steph Curry's StephMoji,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's Justmoji,

Amber Rose Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She gained attention after she starred in the music video for Young Jeezy's 2008 single " Put On", which featured Kanye West. She began a romantic re ...

's MuvaMoji, and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's Hillarymoji. Like Kimoji, StephMoji was a top-selling app on the Apple App Store. A web developer who considered Kimoji a societal ill created parody emoji based on North Korean dictator

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

. Some of its illustrations mock Kimoji.

References

{{Kim Kardashian 2015 software IOS software Emoji typefaces Kim Kardashian