It has been possible for some time to quickly respond to a message in the Messages app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and even Apple Watch. These will be tapbacks and are short responses. You can also respond with stickers and emoji, so you can perfectly express your feelings about a message.
Responding with small stickers and emoji has been possible since iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. You then paste the desired picture or emoticon onto the message so that the recipient immediately knows your reaction and mood.
Reply to messages with stickers or emoji
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone or iPad
- Place your finger on the message you want to respond to
- Choose ‘Add sticker’ from the pop-up menu
- Select a desired sticker or emoji
On a Mac you can also respond using pictures or an emoticon. To do this, click with a secondary click (right mouse button) on the desired message and select ‘Add sticker’. Please note, this is only possible on messages sent via iMessage (blue text bubble).
Remove stickers on messages
Has someone placed a sticker on top of a message and you can no longer read the content? Then you can (temporarily) remove the sticker. Place your finger on the message until it floats to read the content. If necessary, you can remove the sticker by tapping ‘Sticker information’ in the pop-up menu and then swiping from right to left over the picture in the list to delete it. On a Mac, right-click the message to open Sticker Information.
Short responses with tapbacks
Want to give a short response to an iMessage message? Then you can also use tapbacks. To do this, place your finger on the message on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch and then you can immediately select a short response from the pop-up menu, such as a thumbs up or question mark. On a Mac you can activate this with a secondary click (right mouse button) on the desired message.