Google appears to add 'audio emoji' feature - including a fart button

"I was on the phone and saw a new button come up... "Audio Emoji"??? I had to call my brother to test it out!" said one X user.

An accompanying video shows the feature in action. The "audio emoji" option swipes up to reveal six familiar emojis: laughing, clapping, celebrating, a drum, crying and... the poo emoji.

When a user taps the emojis, they play a corresponding sound down the phone.

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Some of the matching sounds are obvious - clapping is clapping, laughing is laughing, the drum makes a 'badum tish' sound. And, somewhat inevitably, the poo emoji makes a fart noise.

The update, which appears to just be being tested as it isn't rolled out to all users, has been met with mixed reactions.

"Did anyone ask for this? No. Am I still gonna use it? Yes," said one Reddit user. Others were less entertained.

"If you ask me, they should focus on improving things," one person posted on X.

"Imagine you are calling your friend after getting fired and talking to him about the stress you are going through, and suddenly, your friend starts playing weird audio emoji sounds," another posted on Reddit.

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One Reddit user, SohipX, did have an idea of how to put the poo emoji to good use.

"The fart sound is a great idea... I could use it with scam calls!"

Sky News has approached Google for more information.