diff --git a/docs/emoji.md b/docs/emoji.md
index abfd13632..143563f86 100644
--- a/docs/emoji.md
+++ b/docs/emoji.md
@@ -74,6 +74,9 @@ The fields of `Meta` are currently not used or checked when importing emoji, exc
 For each `Emoji`:
 - `downloaded`: should always be true. If the field is missing or not truthy, the emoji will not be imported.
 - `fileName`: name of the image file inside the packed file.
+  The filename has to match the following ECMAScript RegExp: `/^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+?([a-zA-Z0-9\.]+)?$/`
+  (i.e. composed of latin letters, digits, underscores or dots, not starting with a dot and not ending with an underscore)
+  If the file does not match this RegExp, the respective emoji will not be imported!
 - `emoji`: data associated with the emoji as it was stored in the database. Currently most of these fields are
   not even checked for existence. The following are currently used:
   - `name`: name of the emoji for the user, e.g. `blobfox` if a user should type in `:blobfox:` to get the emoji.
diff --git a/packages/backend/src/queue/processors/db/export-custom-emojis.ts b/packages/backend/src/queue/processors/db/export-custom-emojis.ts
index 9aa503e43..f526b90dc 100644
--- a/packages/backend/src/queue/processors/db/export-custom-emojis.ts
+++ b/packages/backend/src/queue/processors/db/export-custom-emojis.ts
@@ -58,12 +58,10 @@ export async function exportCustomEmojis(job: Bull.Job, done: () => void): Promi
 	});
 
 	for (const emoji of customEmojis) {
-		if (!/^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$/.test(emoji.name)) {
-			this.logger.error(`invalid emoji name: ${emoji.name}, skipping in emoji export`);
-			continue;
-		}
 		const ext = mime.extension(emoji.type);
-		const fileName = emoji.name + (ext ? '.' + ext : '');
+		// there are some restrictions on file names, so to be safe the files are
+		// named after their database id instead of the actual emoji name
+		const fileName = emoji.id + (ext ? '.' + ext : '');
 		const emojiPath = path + '/' + fileName;
 		fs.writeFileSync(emojiPath, '', 'binary');
 		let downloaded = false;