You Can Now React to IMessages With Emojis and Stickers
Not every text message requires a written response. If someone said something funny, you hit them with a “Ha ha” reaction. If you’re happy with the proposed plan, a thumbs up response will be the same message as “Sounds good!”
This is why reactions are so useful. Since iOS 10 , Apple has given us six different Tapback reactions to work with, and that’s fine. However, this list of possible reactions is now limitless , as the company is introducing the ability to respond to messages using both emoji and stickers.
This is something Apple announced as part of iOS 17 back in June , but it wasn’t released with last month’s update and didn’t arrive with iOS 17.1 . However, the company has finally added it to iOS 17.2 , which is currently in beta testing for developers (or anyone who wants to download it). If you’re willing to take the risks of downloading a beta, you can install iOS 17.2 now to try out this new responsiveness for yourself. (You can install it from Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates by selecting iOS 17 Developer Beta and then returning to Software Update .)
How to respond to messages using emoticons and stickers
On your iPhone running iOS 17.2, open a thread in Messages, then long-press on any message you want to respond to. Select Add Sticker to open the iOS 17 sticker drawer. The first option that pops up is an emoji menu with some recommendations based on previous use and your current conversation. You can also find any other sticker packs that you have downloaded on your iPhone. Some of them may come as a surprise because they come free with the apps you download.
Of course, the highlight here is the customizable sticker panel, which is a “cleared sticker” icon on the left side of the menu. Since you can make stickers from any photo on your iPhone, you can truly respond to messages with just about anything you can think of. All the stickers you’ve already created will appear here, and you can do more by clicking (+). If you haven’t created your own sticker yet, you can click New Sticker and make one from your photos. More information on creating custom stickers can be found in our guide here .
To respond to messages with these emojis and stickers, tap any emoji or sticker to automatically attach it to a message, or hold and drag an emoji or sticker to place it anywhere you choose. You can also repeat this process as many times as you like: just know that if you tap an emoji or sticker after you’ve already reacted, iOS will load it into the message field and send it as a full-size sticker rather than as a reaction. You’ll need to hold and drag to see subsequent reactions, or long-press on a message and select Add Sticker again.
Interestingly, these reactions appear on all iPhones, even those that are not yet running iOS 17.2. Get used to seeing, “WAIT, how did you do that??” after you spam your friends with reactions.