diff --git a/Session.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj b/Session.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
index c7953fdac..46215da68 100644
--- a/Session.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
+++ b/Session.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@
 		7B1B52D828580C6D006069F2 /* EmojiPickerSheet.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1B52D728580C6D006069F2 /* EmojiPickerSheet.swift */; };
 		7B1B52DF28580D51006069F2 /* EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1B52DB28580D50006069F2 /* EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift */; };
 		7B1B52E028580D51006069F2 /* EmojiSkinTonePicker.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1B52DC28580D50006069F2 /* EmojiSkinTonePicker.swift */; };
+		7B1B52E2286030DF006069F2 /* Storage+Emoji.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1B52E1286030DF006069F2 /* Storage+Emoji.swift */; };
 		7B1D74AA27BCC16E0030B423 /* NSENotificationPresenter.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1D74A927BCC16E0030B423 /* NSENotificationPresenter.swift */; };
 		7B1D74AC27BDE7510030B423 /* Promise+Timeout.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1D74AB27BDE7510030B423 /* Promise+Timeout.swift */; };
 		7B1D74B027C365960030B423 /* Timer+MainThread.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 7B1D74AF27C365960030B423 /* Timer+MainThread.swift */; };
@@ -1144,6 +1145,7 @@
 		7B1B52D728580C6D006069F2 /* EmojiPickerSheet.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = EmojiPickerSheet.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		7B1B52DB28580D50006069F2 /* EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; fileEncoding = 4; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		7B1B52DC28580D50006069F2 /* EmojiSkinTonePicker.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; fileEncoding = 4; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = EmojiSkinTonePicker.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
+		7B1B52E1286030DF006069F2 /* Storage+Emoji.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = "Storage+Emoji.swift"; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		7B1D74A927BCC16E0030B423 /* NSENotificationPresenter.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = NSENotificationPresenter.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		7B1D74AB27BDE7510030B423 /* Promise+Timeout.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = "Promise+Timeout.swift"; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		7B1D74AF27C365960030B423 /* Timer+MainThread.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = "Timer+MainThread.swift"; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
@@ -2160,6 +2162,7 @@
 				7B9F71CD2852EEE2006DFE7B /* Emoji+SkinTones.swift */,
 				7B9F71CE2852EEE2006DFE7B /* Emoji.swift */,
 				7B9F71CF2852EEE2006DFE7B /* Emoji+Name.swift */,
+				7B1B52E1286030DF006069F2 /* Storage+Emoji.swift */,
 			);
 			path = Emoji;
 			sourceTree = "<group>";
@@ -5092,6 +5095,7 @@
 				C31A6C5A247F214E001123EF /* UIView+Glow.swift in Sources */,
 				C31D1DE9252172D4005D4DA8 /* ContactUtilities.swift in Sources */,
 				4521C3C01F59F3BA00B4C582 /* TextFieldHelper.swift in Sources */,
+				7B1B52E2286030DF006069F2 /* Storage+Emoji.swift in Sources */,
 				340FC8AC204DAC8D007AEB0F /* PrivacySettingsTableViewController.m in Sources */,
 				7B9F71D22852EEE2006DFE7B /* Emoji+SkinTones.swift in Sources */,
 				7B7CB18E270D066F0079FF93 /* IncomingCallBanner.swift in Sources */,
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+Action.swift b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+Action.swift
index 4b324c522..bbd8e53f4 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+Action.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+Action.swift	
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ protocol ContextMenuActionDelegate : AnyObject {
     func save(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem)
     func ban(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem)
     func banAndDeleteAllMessages(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem)
-    func react(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: String)
+    func react(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones)
     func showFullEmojiKeyboard(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem)
     func contextMenuDismissed()
 }
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+EmojiReactsView.swift b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+EmojiReactsView.swift
index 031c216e2..9c1e00d0b 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+EmojiReactsView.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC+EmojiReactsView.swift	
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 extension ContextMenuVC {
     
     final class EmojiReactsView: UIView {
-        private let emoji: String
+        private let emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones
         private let dismiss: () -> Void
         private let work: () -> Void
 
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ extension ContextMenuVC {
         private static let size: CGFloat = 40
         
         // MARK: Lifecycle
-        init(for emoji: String, dismiss: @escaping () -> Void, work: @escaping () -> Void) {
+        init(for emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones, dismiss: @escaping () -> Void, work: @escaping () -> Void) {
             self.emoji = emoji
             self.dismiss = dismiss
             self.work = work
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ extension ContextMenuVC {
 
         private func setUpViewHierarchy() {
             let emojiLabel = UILabel()
-            emojiLabel.text = self.emoji
+            emojiLabel.text = self.emoji.rawValue
             emojiLabel.font = .systemFont(ofSize: Values.veryLargeFontSize)
             emojiLabel.set(.height, to: ContextMenuVC.EmojiReactsView.size)
             addSubview(emojiLabel)
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC.swift b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC.swift
index 45c2c9f12..206901b28 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Context Menu/ContextMenuVC.swift	
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ final class ContextMenuVC : UIViewController {
     private let frame: CGRect
     private let dismiss: () -> Void
     private weak var delegate: ContextMenuActionDelegate?
+    
+    private var recentEmoji: [EmojiWithSkinTones] = []
 
     // MARK: UI Components
     private lazy var blurView = UIVisualEffectView(effect: nil)
@@ -58,6 +60,9 @@ final class ContextMenuVC : UIViewController {
         self.delegate = delegate
         self.dismiss = dismiss
         super.init(nibName: nil, bundle: nil)
+        Storage.read { transaction in
+            self.recentEmoji = Array(Storage.shared.getRecentEmoji(transaction: transaction)[...5])
+        }
     }
 
     override init(nibName: String?, bundle: Bundle?) {
@@ -106,7 +111,7 @@ final class ContextMenuVC : UIViewController {
         emojiPlusButton.pin(.right, to: .right, of: emojiBar, withInset: -Values.smallSpacing)
         emojiPlusButton.center(.vertical, in: emojiBar)
         
-        let emojiLabels = UserDefaults.standard.getRecentlyUsedEmojis().map { emoji -> EmojiReactsView in
+        let emojiLabels = recentEmoji.map { emoji -> EmojiReactsView in
             EmojiReactsView(for: emoji, dismiss: snDismiss) {
                 self.delegate?.react(self.viewItem, with: emoji)
             }
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/ConversationVC+Interaction.swift b/Session/Conversations/ConversationVC+Interaction.swift
index b16e8871b..e97fbb2dd 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/ConversationVC+Interaction.swift
+++ b/Session/Conversations/ConversationVC+Interaction.swift
@@ -822,7 +822,7 @@ extension ConversationVC : InputViewDelegate, MessageCellDelegate, ContextMenuAc
         presentAlert(alert)
     }
     
-    func showReactionList(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, selectedReaction: String?) {
+    func showReactionList(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, selectedReaction: EmojiWithSkinTones?) {
         guard let thread = thread as? TSGroupThread else { return }
         guard let message = viewItem.interaction as? TSMessage, message.reactions.count > 0 else { return }
         let reactionListSheet = ReactionListSheet(for: viewItem, thread: thread)
@@ -833,17 +833,19 @@ extension ConversationVC : InputViewDelegate, MessageCellDelegate, ContextMenuAc
         present(reactionListSheet, animated: true, completion: nil)
     }
     
-    func react(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: String) {
-        UserDefaults.standard.addNewRecentlyUsedEmoji(emoji)
-        react(viewItem, with: emoji, cancel: false)
+    func react(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones) {
+        Storage.write { transaction in
+            Storage.shared.recordRecentEmoji(emoji, transaction: transaction)
+        }
+        react(viewItem, with: emoji.rawValue, cancel: false)
     }
     
-    func quickReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: String) {
+    func quickReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones) {
         react(viewItem, with: emoji)
     }
     
-    func cancelReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, for emoji: String) {
-        react(viewItem, with: emoji, cancel: true)
+    func cancelReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, for emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones) {
+        react(viewItem, with: emoji.rawValue, cancel: true)
     }
     
     func cancelAllReact(reactMessages: [ReactMessage]) {
@@ -885,7 +887,7 @@ extension ConversationVC : InputViewDelegate, MessageCellDelegate, ContextMenuAc
         let emojiPicker = EmojiPickerSheet(
             completionHandler: { emoji in
                 if let emoji = emoji {
-                    self.react(viewItem, with: emoji.rawValue)
+                    self.react(viewItem, with: emoji)
                 }
             },
             dismissHandler: {
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Emoji Picker/EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift b/Session/Conversations/Emoji Picker/EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift
index 5769e7916..6eea609b1 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Emoji Picker/EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Emoji Picker/EmojiPickerCollectionView.swift	
@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@ protocol EmojiPickerCollectionViewDelegate: AnyObject {
 class EmojiPickerCollectionView: UICollectionView {
     let layout: UICollectionViewFlowLayout
 
-    private static let emojiPickerCollection = "EmojiPickerCollection"
-    private static let recentEmojiKey = "recentEmoji"
-
     weak var pickerDelegate: EmojiPickerCollectionViewDelegate?
 
     private var recentEmoji: [EmojiWithSkinTones] = []
@@ -70,12 +67,7 @@ class EmojiPickerCollectionView: UICollectionView {
         tapGestureRecognizer.delegate = self
         
         Storage.read { transaction in
-            let rawRecentEmoji = transaction.object(
-                forKey: EmojiPickerCollectionView.recentEmojiKey,
-                inCollection: EmojiPickerCollectionView.emojiPickerCollection
-            ) as? [String] ?? []
-
-            self.recentEmoji = rawRecentEmoji.compactMap { EmojiWithSkinTones(rawValue: $0) }
+            self.recentEmoji = Storage.shared.getRecentEmoji(transaction: transaction)
 
             // Some emoji have two different code points but identical appearances. Let's remove them!
             // If we normalize to a different emoji than the one currently in our array, we want to drop
@@ -140,29 +132,6 @@ class EmojiPickerCollectionView: UICollectionView {
         return category.localizedName
     }
 
-    func recordRecentEmoji(_ emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones, transaction: YapDatabaseReadWriteTransaction) {
-        guard recentEmoji.first != emoji else { return }
-        guard emoji.isNormalized else {
-            recordRecentEmoji(emoji.normalized, transaction: transaction)
-            return
-        }
-
-        var newRecentEmoji = recentEmoji
-
-        // Remove any existing entries for this emoji
-        newRecentEmoji.removeAll { emoji == $0 }
-        // Insert the selected emoji at the start of the list
-        newRecentEmoji.insert(emoji, at: 0)
-        // Truncate the recent emoji list to a maximum of 50 stored
-        newRecentEmoji = Array(newRecentEmoji[0..<min(50, newRecentEmoji.count)])
-        
-        transaction.setObject(
-            newRecentEmoji.map { $0.rawValue },
-            forKey: EmojiPickerCollectionView.recentEmojiKey,
-            inCollection: EmojiPickerCollectionView.emojiPickerCollection
-        )
-    }
-
     // MARK: - Search
 
     func searchWithText(_ searchText: String?) {
@@ -205,7 +174,7 @@ class EmojiPickerCollectionView: UICollectionView {
 
                 if let emoji = emoji {
                     Storage.write { transaction in
-                        self.recordRecentEmoji(emoji, transaction: transaction)
+                        Storage.shared.recordRecentEmoji(emoji, transaction: transaction)
                         emoji.baseEmoji.setPreferredSkinTones(emoji.skinTones, transaction: transaction)
                     }
 
@@ -248,7 +217,7 @@ extension EmojiPickerCollectionView: UICollectionViewDelegate {
         }
 
         Storage.write { transaction in
-            self.recordRecentEmoji(emoji, transaction: transaction)
+            Storage.shared.recordRecentEmoji(emoji, transaction: transaction)
         }
 
         pickerDelegate?.emojiPicker(self, didSelectEmoji: emoji)
@@ -378,18 +347,3 @@ private class EmojiSectionHeader: UICollectionReusableView {
         return labelSize
     }
 }
-
-fileprivate extension EmojiWithSkinTones {
-
-    var normalized: EmojiWithSkinTones {
-        switch (baseEmoji, skinTones) {
-        case (let base, nil) where base.normalized != base:
-            return EmojiWithSkinTones(baseEmoji: base.normalized)
-        default:
-            return self
-        }
-    }
-
-    var isNormalized: Bool { self == normalized }
-
-}
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionContainerView.swift b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionContainerView.swift
index 5a71d539d..16e5f3707 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionContainerView.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionContainerView.swift	
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ final class ReactionContainerView : UIView {
     private var showNumbers = true
     private var maxEmojisPerLine = isIPhone6OrSmaller ? 5 : 6
     
-    var reactions: [(String, (Int, Bool))] = []
+    var reactions: [(EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool))] = []
     var reactionViews: [ReactionButton] = []
     var expandButton: ExpandingReactionButton?
     var collapseButton: UIStackView = {
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ final class ReactionContainerView : UIView {
         mainStackView.pin(to: self)
     }
     
-    public func update(_ reactions: [(String, (Int, Bool))], isOutgoingMessage: Bool, showNumbers: Bool) {
+    public func update(_ reactions: [(EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool))], isOutgoingMessage: Bool, showNumbers: Bool) {
         self.reactions = reactions
         self.isOutgoingMessage = isOutgoingMessage
         self.showNumbers = showNumbers
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ final class ReactionContainerView : UIView {
         }
     }
     
-    private func updateCollapsedReactions(_ reactions: [(String, (Int, Bool))]) {
+    private func updateCollapsedReactions(_ reactions: [(EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool))]) {
         let stackView = UIStackView()
         stackView.axis = .horizontal
         stackView.spacing = Values.smallSpacing
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ final class ReactionContainerView : UIView {
             reactionContainerView.semanticContentAttribute = .unspecified
         }
         
-        var displayedReactions: [(String, (Int, Bool))]
-        var expandButtonReactions: [String]
+        var displayedReactions: [(EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool))]
+        var expandButtonReactions: [EmojiWithSkinTones]
         
         if reactions.count > maxEmojisPerLine {
             displayedReactions = Array(reactions[0...(maxEmojisPerLine - 3)])
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ final class ReactionContainerView : UIView {
     private func updateAllReactions() {
         var reactions = self.reactions
         while reactions.count > 0 {
-            var line: [(String, (Int, Bool))] = []
+            var line: [(EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool))] = []
             while reactions.count > 0 && line.count < maxEmojisPerLine {
                 line.append(reactions.removeFirst())
             }
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionView.swift b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionView.swift
index 3c1c6cd8d..1276d5c09 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionView.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/Content Views/ReactionView.swift	
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import UIKit
 
 final class ReactionButton : UIView {
-    let emoji: String
+    let emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones
     let number: Int
     let showBorder: Bool
     let showNumber: Bool
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ final class ReactionButton : UIView {
     private var spacing: CGFloat = Values.verySmallSpacing
     
     // MARK: Lifecycle
-    init(emoji: String, value: Int, showBorder: Bool = false, showNumber: Bool = true) {
+    init(emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones, value: Int, showBorder: Bool = false, showNumber: Bool = true) {
         self.emoji = emoji
         self.number = value
         self.showBorder = showBorder
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ final class ReactionButton : UIView {
     
     private func setUpViewHierarchy() {
         let emojiLabel = UILabel()
-        emojiLabel.text = emoji
+        emojiLabel.text = emoji.rawValue
         emojiLabel.font = .systemFont(ofSize: fontSize)
         
         let stackView = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [ emojiLabel ])
@@ -63,14 +63,14 @@ final class ReactionButton : UIView {
 }
 
 final class ExpandingReactionButton: UIView {
-    private let emojis: [String]
+    private let emojis: [EmojiWithSkinTones]
     
     // MARK: Settings
     private let size: CGFloat = 22
     private let margin: CGFloat = 15
     
     // MARK: Lifecycle
-    init(emojis: [String]) {
+    init(emojis: [EmojiWithSkinTones]) {
         self.emojis = emojis
         super.init(frame: CGRect.zero)
         setUpViewHierarchy()
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ final class ExpandingReactionButton: UIView {
             container.layer.borderColor = isDarkMode ? UIColor.black.cgColor : UIColor.white.cgColor
             
             let emojiLabel = UILabel()
-            emojiLabel.text = emoji
+            emojiLabel.text = emoji.rawValue
             emojiLabel.font = .systemFont(ofSize: Values.verySmallFontSize)
             
             container.addSubview(emojiLabel)
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/MessageCell.swift b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/MessageCell.swift
index 03bac3d15..f8a5169a0 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/MessageCell.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/MessageCell.swift	
@@ -80,6 +80,6 @@ protocol MessageCellDelegate : ReactionDelegate {
     func openURL(_ url: URL)
     func handleReplyButtonTapped(for viewItem: ConversationViewItem)
     func showUserDetails(for sessionID: String)
-    func showReactionList(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, selectedReaction: String?)
+    func showReactionList(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, selectedReaction: EmojiWithSkinTones?)
     func needsLayout()
 }
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/VisibleMessageCell.swift b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/VisibleMessageCell.swift
index f92f06979..3e33d4c4a 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/VisibleMessageCell.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Message Cells/VisibleMessageCell.swift	
@@ -457,9 +457,9 @@ final class VisibleMessageCell : MessageCell, LinkPreviewViewDelegate {
     }
     
     private func populateReaction(for viewItem: ConversationViewItem, message: TSMessage) {
-        let reactions: OrderedDictionary<String, (Int, Bool)> = OrderedDictionary()
+        let reactions: OrderedDictionary<EmojiWithSkinTones, (Int, Bool)> = OrderedDictionary()
         for reaction in message.reactions {
-            if let reactMessage = reaction as? ReactMessage, let emoji = reactMessage.emoji {
+            if let reactMessage = reaction as? ReactMessage, let rawEmoji = reactMessage.emoji, let emoji = EmojiWithSkinTones(rawValue: rawEmoji) {
                 let isSelfSend = (reactMessage.sender! == getUserHexEncodedPublicKey())
                 if let value = reactions.value(forKey: emoji) {
                     reactions.replace(key: emoji, value: (value.0 + 1, value.1 || isSelfSend))
diff --git a/Session/Conversations/Views & Modals/ReactionListSheet.swift b/Session/Conversations/Views & Modals/ReactionListSheet.swift
index fb688a698..e407a23e1 100644
--- a/Session/Conversations/Views & Modals/ReactionListSheet.swift	
+++ b/Session/Conversations/Views & Modals/ReactionListSheet.swift	
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ final class ReactionListSheet : BaseVC {
     private let thread: TSGroupThread
     private let viewItem: ConversationViewItem
     private var reactions: [ReactMessage] = []
-    private var reactionMap: OrderedDictionary<String, [ReactMessage]> = OrderedDictionary()
-    var selectedReaction: String?
+    private var reactionMap: OrderedDictionary<EmojiWithSkinTones, [ReactMessage]> = OrderedDictionary()
+    var selectedReaction: EmojiWithSkinTones?
     var delegate: ReactionDelegate?
     
     // MARK: Components
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ final class ReactionListSheet : BaseVC {
             self.reactions = message.reactions as! [ReactMessage]
         }
         for reaction in reactions {
-            if let emoji = reaction.emoji {
+            if let rawEmoji = reaction.emoji, let emoji = EmojiWithSkinTones(rawValue: rawEmoji) {
                 if !reactionMap.hasValue(forKey: emoji) { reactionMap.append(key: emoji, value: []) }
                 var value = reactionMap.value(forKey: emoji)!
                 if reaction.sender == getUserHexEncodedPublicKey() {
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ final class ReactionListSheet : BaseVC {
     private func reloadData() {
         reactionContainer.reloadData()
         let seletedData = reactionMap.value(forKey: selectedReaction!)!
-        detailInfoLabel.text = "\(selectedReaction!) · \(seletedData.count)"
+        detailInfoLabel.text = "\(selectedReaction!.rawValue) · \(seletedData.count)"
         if thread.isOpenGroup, let threadId = thread.uniqueId, let openGroupV2 = Storage.shared.getV2OpenGroup(for: threadId) {
             let isUserModerator = OpenGroupAPIV2.isUserModerator(getUserHexEncodedPublicKey(), for: openGroupV2.room, on: openGroupV2.server)
             clearAllButton.isHidden = !isUserModerator
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ extension ReactionListSheet: UICollectionViewDataSource, UICollectionViewDelegat
     func collectionView(_ collectionView: UICollectionView, cellForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UICollectionViewCell {
         let cell = collectionView.dequeueReusableCell(withReuseIdentifier: Cell.identifier, for: indexPath) as! Cell
         let item = reactionMap.orderedItems[indexPath.item]
-        cell.data = (item.0, item.1.count)
+        cell.data = (item.0.rawValue, item.1.count)
         cell.isCurrentSelection = item.0 == selectedReaction!
         return cell
     }
@@ -350,8 +350,8 @@ extension ReactionListSheet {
 
 protocol ReactionDelegate : AnyObject {
     
-    func quickReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: String)
-    func cancelReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, for emoji: String)
+    func quickReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, with emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones)
+    func cancelReact(_ viewItem: ConversationViewItem, for emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones)
     func cancelAllReact(reactMessages: [ReactMessage])
     
 }
diff --git a/Session/Emoji/EmojiWithSkinTones.swift b/Session/Emoji/EmojiWithSkinTones.swift
index 26b1a14be..6c62ff255 100644
--- a/Session/Emoji/EmojiWithSkinTones.swift
+++ b/Session/Emoji/EmojiWithSkinTones.swift
@@ -26,6 +26,17 @@ public struct EmojiWithSkinTones: Hashable {
             return baseEmoji.rawValue
         }
     }
+    
+    var normalized: EmojiWithSkinTones {
+        switch (baseEmoji, skinTones) {
+        case (let base, nil) where base.normalized != base:
+            return EmojiWithSkinTones(baseEmoji: base.normalized)
+        default:
+            return self
+        }
+    }
+
+    var isNormalized: Bool { self == normalized }
 }
 
 extension Emoji {
diff --git a/Session/Emoji/Storage+Emoji.swift b/Session/Emoji/Storage+Emoji.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..35db167db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Session/Emoji/Storage+Emoji.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+extension Storage {
+    
+    private static let emojiPickerCollection = "EmojiPickerCollection"
+    private static let recentEmojiKey = "recentEmoji"
+    
+    func getRecentEmoji(transaction: YapDatabaseReadTransaction) -> [EmojiWithSkinTones] {
+        var rawRecentEmoji = transaction.object(forKey: Self.recentEmojiKey, inCollection: Self.emojiPickerCollection) as? [String] ?? []
+        let defaultEmoji = ["🙈", "🙉", "🙊", "😈", "🥸", "🐀"].filter{ !rawRecentEmoji.contains($0) }
+        
+        if rawRecentEmoji.count < 6 {
+            rawRecentEmoji.append(contentsOf: defaultEmoji[..<(defaultEmoji.count - rawRecentEmoji.count)])
+        }
+        
+        return rawRecentEmoji.compactMap { EmojiWithSkinTones(rawValue: $0) }
+    }
+    
+    func recordRecentEmoji(_ emoji: EmojiWithSkinTones, transaction: YapDatabaseReadWriteTransaction) {
+        let recentEmoji = getRecentEmoji(transaction: transaction)
+        guard recentEmoji.first != emoji else { return }
+        guard emoji.isNormalized else {
+            recordRecentEmoji(emoji.normalized, transaction: transaction)
+            return
+        }
+
+        var newRecentEmoji = recentEmoji
+
+        // Remove any existing entries for this emoji
+        newRecentEmoji.removeAll { emoji == $0 }
+        // Insert the selected emoji at the start of the list
+        newRecentEmoji.insert(emoji, at: 0)
+        // Truncate the recent emoji list to a maximum of 50 stored
+        newRecentEmoji = Array(newRecentEmoji[0..<min(50, newRecentEmoji.count)])
+        
+        transaction.setObject(newRecentEmoji.map { $0.rawValue }, forKey: Self.recentEmojiKey, inCollection: Self.emojiPickerCollection)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/SessionUtilitiesKit/General/SNUserDefaults.swift b/SessionUtilitiesKit/General/SNUserDefaults.swift
index 6288744db..351c64cfc 100644
--- a/SessionUtilitiesKit/General/SNUserDefaults.swift
+++ b/SessionUtilitiesKit/General/SNUserDefaults.swift
@@ -33,10 +33,6 @@ public enum SNUserDefaults {
     public enum String : Swift.String {
         case deviceToken
     }
-    
-    public enum Array : Swift.String {
-        case recentlyUsedEmojis
-    }
 }
 
 public extension UserDefaults {
@@ -65,29 +61,4 @@ public extension UserDefaults {
         get { return self.string(forKey: string.rawValue) }
         set { set(newValue, forKey: string.rawValue) }
     }
-    
-    subscript(array: SNUserDefaults.Array) -> [String] {
-        get { return self.stringArray(forKey: array.rawValue) ?? []}
-        set { set(newValue, forKey: array.rawValue) }
-    }
-    
-    func getRecentlyUsedEmojis() -> [String] {
-        let result = self[.recentlyUsedEmojis]
-        if result.isEmpty {
-            return ["🙈", "🙉", "🙊", "😈", "🥸", "🐀"]
-        }
-        return result
-    }
-    
-    func addNewRecentlyUsedEmoji(_ emoji: String) {
-        var recentlyUsedEmojis = getRecentlyUsedEmojis()
-        if let index = recentlyUsedEmojis.firstIndex(of: emoji) {
-            recentlyUsedEmojis.remove(at: index)
-        }
-        if recentlyUsedEmojis.count >= 6 {
-            recentlyUsedEmojis.remove(at: 5)
-        }
-        recentlyUsedEmojis.insert(emoji, at: 0)
-        self[.recentlyUsedEmojis] = recentlyUsedEmojis
-    }
 }