diff --git a/Michelf/MarkdownExtra.php b/Michelf/MarkdownExtra.php
index 87d0308..af079c4 100644
--- a/Michelf/MarkdownExtra.php
+++ b/Michelf/MarkdownExtra.php
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ class MarkdownExtra extends \Michelf\Markdown {
 	public $fn_link_class = "footnote-ref";
 	public $fn_backlink_class = "footnote-backref";
 
+	# Content to be displayed within footnote backlinks. The default is '↩';
+	# the U+FE0E on the end is a Unicode variant selector used to prevent iOS
+	# from displaying the arrow character as an emoji.
+	public $fn_backlink_html = '↩︎';
+
 	# Class name for table cell alignment (%% replaced left/center/right)
 	# For instance: 'go-%%' becomes 'go-left' or 'go-right' or 'go-center'
 	# If empty, the align attribute is used instead of a class name.
@@ -1475,6 +1480,7 @@ class MarkdownExtra extends \Michelf\Markdown {
 				$title = $this->encodeAttribute($title);
 				$attr .= " title=\"$title\"";
 			}
+			$backlink_text = $this->fn_backlink_html;
 			$num = 0;
 			
 			while (!empty($this->footnotes_ordered)) {
@@ -1494,9 +1500,9 @@ class MarkdownExtra extends \Michelf\Markdown {
 				$note_id = $this->encodeAttribute($note_id);
 
 				# Prepare backlink, multiple backlinks if multiple references
-				$backlink = "<a href=\"#fnref:$note_id\"$attr>&#8617;</a>";
+				$backlink = "<a href=\"#fnref:$note_id\"$attr>$backlink_text</a>";
 				for ($ref_num = 2; $ref_num <= $ref_count; ++$ref_num) {
-					$backlink .= " <a href=\"#fnref$ref_num:$note_id\"$attr>&#8617;</a>";
+					$backlink .= " <a href=\"#fnref$ref_num:$note_id\"$attr>$backlink_text</a>";
 				}
 				# Add backlink to last paragraph; create new paragraph if needed.
 				if (preg_match('{</p>$}', $footnote)) {
diff --git a/Readme.md b/Readme.md
index 4facd76..bc63c79 100644
--- a/Readme.md
+++ b/Readme.md
@@ -187,6 +187,16 @@ Current Version
 	of the special attribute block). Credits to Mario Konrad for providing the 
 	implementation.
 
+*	The curled arrow character for the backlink in footnotes is now followed
+	by a Unicode variant selector to prevent it from being displayed in emoji
+	form on iOS.
+
+	Note that in older browsers the variant selector is often interpreted as a 
+	separate character, making it visible after the arrow. So there is now a 
+	also a `fn_backlink_html` configuration variable that can be used to set 
+	the link text to something else. Credits to Dana for providing the 
+	implementation.
+
 
 PHP Markdown Lib 1.5.0 (1 Mar 2015)