The Asterisk-Wrapped ASCII Heart is a heart symbol in the Pixel & ASCII family. ASCII heart flanked by single asterisks — chunky retro look. Common in 2000s MSN / screen names. Some chat clients will markdown-italic the asterisks; escape with backslashes.
Click the *<3* above to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it into Instagram bios, TikTok captions, WhatsApp messages, Discord channels, Twitter/X posts, or anywhere else you write text. Plain-text hearts: <3, </3, chunky asterisk frames, and multi-line ASCII drawings.
Using Asterisk-Wrapped ASCII Heart in your bios, captions and messages
Bios & dating profiles
Hearts are the universal "what I'm about" signal in Instagram and TikTok bios. Drop *<3* between sections — name, role, link in bio — to soften the layout. On Hinge/Bumble bios, hearts make a profile read warm rather than transactional.
Compatibility
Renders consistently across iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux and the web. Variation selectors (U+FE0E text, U+FE0F emoji) may be needed to force a specific presentation.
Tone & meaning
Reads as retro, nostalgic, or ironic depending on context. Pair with gaming, 8-bit, or Y2K aesthetic content.
More Pixel & ASCII
Frequently asked questions
What does the Asterisk-Wrapped ASCII Heart symbol mean?
Asterisk-Wrapped ASCII Heart *<3* is a heart in the Pixel & ASCII family. ASCII heart flanked by single asterisks — chunky retro look. Common in 2000s MSN / screen names. Some chat clients will markdown-italic the asterisks; escape with backslashes.
How do I type *<3* on a keyboard?
Click the *<3* at the top of this page — it copies to your clipboard instantly. On Mac you can also press Option+Shift+2 for ™, but there is no built-in keyboard shortcut for most hearts.
Is Asterisk-Wrapped ASCII Heart appropriate for a non-romantic context?
Yes — most hearts read as friendly affection or general "love" rather than strictly romantic. Context (and the recipient) shapes the read.
Will *<3* render correctly on every device?
On modern iOS (≥14), Android (≥11), Mac, Windows 10+, and modern browsers — yes. Some newer hearts (🩷 🩵 🩶 added 2022, 🫀 🫁 🫶 added 2021-22) and ZWJ combos (❤️🔥) require recent OS versions; older devices may show fallbacks.