diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9b7c488..8c763fc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -56,11 +56,18 @@ You can configure which emojis are supported for rating interactions by going to
 
 **Default emojis**: `🎥🏆⭐💎🔥⚡🎯🚀💰🎖️`
 
+**ZWJ Sequence Support**: The plugin fully supports complex emojis including ZWJ (Zero Width Joiner) sequences such as:
+- 🏴‍☠️ (Pirate Flag)
+- 👨‍🚒 (Man Firefighter) 
+- 🏳️‍🌈 (Rainbow Flag)
+- And other compound emojis
+
 **Example usage**:
 - `🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥 (4/5)` Movie rating
 - `🏆🏆🏆 3/5` Achievement level  
 - `🔥🔥🔥🔥 80%` Spice level
 - `🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯 (5/6)` Accuracy rating
+- `🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ (3/5)` Pirate movie rating
 
 
 ## Installation
diff --git a/src/utils/getUnicodeCharLength.ts b/src/utils/getUnicodeCharLength.ts
index 7683ea8..7d268e9 100644
--- a/src/utils/getUnicodeCharLength.ts
+++ b/src/utils/getUnicodeCharLength.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 /**
- * Get the length of a string in Unicode characters
+ * Get the length of a string in Unicode grapheme clusters
+ * This properly handles ZWJ sequences, variation selectors, and complex emoji
  */
 export function getUnicodeCharLength(str: string): number {
-  return [...str].length;
+  const segmenter = new Intl.Segmenter('en', { granularity: 'grapheme' });
+  return Array.from(segmenter.segment(str)).length;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/utils/getUnicodeSubstring.ts b/src/utils/getUnicodeSubstring.ts
index 13dd136..704418e 100644
--- a/src/utils/getUnicodeSubstring.ts
+++ b/src/utils/getUnicodeSubstring.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 /**
- * Get a substring with proper Unicode character handling
+ * Get a substring with proper Unicode grapheme cluster handling
+ * This properly handles ZWJ sequences, variation selectors, and complex emoji
  */
 export function getUnicodeSubstring(str: string, start: number, end: number): string {
-  return [...str].slice(start, end).join('');
+  const segmenter = new Intl.Segmenter('en', { granularity: 'grapheme' });
+  return Array.from(segmenter.segment(str), segment => segment.segment).slice(start, end).join('');
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/utils/updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings.ts b/src/utils/updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings.ts
index 0206c3d..28697ae 100644
--- a/src/utils/updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings.ts
+++ b/src/utils/updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings.ts
@@ -10,11 +10,12 @@ export function updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings(settings: InteractiveRatingsSet
   
   // Add emoji patterns from settings
   if (settings.supportedEmojis) {
-    // Split the emoji string into individual characters (handling Unicode properly)
-    const emojis = [...settings.supportedEmojis];
+    // Split the emoji string into individual grapheme clusters (handling ZWJ sequences properly)
+    const segmenter = new Intl.Segmenter('en', { granularity: 'grapheme' });
+    const emojis = Array.from(segmenter.segment(settings.supportedEmojis), segment => segment.segment);
     
     for (const emoji of emojis) {
-      if (emoji.trim()) { // Skip empty characters
+      if (emoji.trim()) { // Skip empty characters and whitespace
         newPatterns.push({
           full: emoji,
           empty: emoji,
@@ -28,8 +29,10 @@ export function updateSymbolPatternsFromSettings(settings: InteractiveRatingsSet
   updateSymbolPatterns(newPatterns);
   
   if (LOGGING_ENABLED) {
+    const segmenter = new Intl.Segmenter('en', { granularity: 'grapheme' });
     console.debug('[InteractiveRatings] Updated symbol patterns from settings', {
       supportedEmojis: settings.supportedEmojis,
+      parsedEmojis: settings.supportedEmojis ? Array.from(segmenter.segment(settings.supportedEmojis), segment => segment.segment) : [],
       totalPatterns: newPatterns.length
     });
   }