diff --git a/Pachyderm/Sources/Pachyderm/Model/Account.swift b/Pachyderm/Sources/Pachyderm/Model/Account.swift
index bd76d9fc..07da3350 100644
--- a/Pachyderm/Sources/Pachyderm/Model/Account.swift
+++ b/Pachyderm/Sources/Pachyderm/Model/Account.swift
@@ -49,7 +49,12 @@ public final class Account: AccountProtocol, Decodable {
         self.avatarStatic = try? container.decode(URL.self, forKey: .avatarStatic)
         self.header = try? container.decode(URL.self, forKey: .header)
         self.headerStatic = try? container.decode(URL.self, forKey: .headerStatic)
-        self.emojis = try container.decode([Emoji].self, forKey: .emojis)
+        // even up-to-date pixelfed instances sometimes lack this, for reasons unclear
+        if let emojis = try container.decodeIfPresent([Emoji].self, forKey: .emojis) {
+            self.emojis = emojis
+        } else {
+            self.emojis = []
+        }
         self.fields = (try? container.decode([Field].self, forKey: .fields)) ?? []
         self.bot = try? container.decode(Bool.self, forKey: .bot)