diff --git a/lib/config/definitions.ts b/lib/config/definitions.ts
index 558c95c862de641e4d9eb678be30ab60c779177f..4554c8f7faba9394cfa61f6dc83121e67dde6cb2 100644
--- a/lib/config/definitions.ts
+++ b/lib/config/definitions.ts
@@ -1645,7 +1645,7 @@ const options: RenovateOptions[] = [
     name: 'unicodeEmoji',
     description: 'Enable or disable Unicode emoji',
     type: 'boolean',
-    default: false,
+    default: true,
   },
   {
     name: 'gitLabAutomerge',