Which Unicode block contains the 16 variation selectors from FE00 to FE0F?

The Variation Selectors Unicode block contains the 16 variation selectors from U+FE00 through U+FE0F.

The block was introduced in Unicode 3.2 and occupies a compact range of 16 code points. These characters are combining selectors: each one applies to the character immediately before it and can request a particular glyph variant. They do not normally appear as independent visible symbols.

Emoji users most often encounter the final two members. U+FE0E, VARIATION SELECTOR-15, requests text-style presentation, while U+FE0F, VARIATION SELECTOR-16, requests emoji-style presentation. Thus a heart can be written as a text-style symbol or followed by VS16 to encourage colorful emoji rendering. The result still depends on the font and software.

The block is broader than emoji. Variation selectors are also used in standardized sequences for mathematical symbols, CJK ideographs, Phags-pa, and Egyptian hieroglyphs. VS8 through VS14 currently have no defined standardized variation sequences, so the range is not simply a list of sixteen emoji controls.