Many messaging apps now offer users the ability to react to a chat bubble with an emoji. For instance, Facebook Messenger users can use emoji reactions in a conversation and WhatsApp also offers the feature now.

Mark Zuckerberg announced on his Instagram Stories at the beginning of July 2022 that an emoji reactions feature started rolling out and it was then announced on 11 July 2022 that this feature had expanded to include the full emoji keyboard and not just the initial select few that were available.

Here is everything you need to know about emoji reactions in WhatsApp.

What are emoji reactions?

Emoji reactions are literally emoji that you use to show another person you've seen their message and you felt a certain way about it.

They can be a heart, for instance, or the face with tears of joy emoji. Emoji reactions are a universal, visual, and simple way to respond to a message without having to type a response.

How to get emoji reactions in WhatsApp

You need to download (or update to) the latest version of the WhatsApp mobile app. If you don't see emoji reactions in WhatsApp, just bear in mind that the software update bringing the feature is rolling out server-side. It may take a few weeks for everyone to get emoji reactions in WhatsApp.

How to react to messages in WhatsApp

If you want to use emoji reactions on a message in WhatsApp, follow these steps:

  1. Open the latest version of the WhatsApp mobile app.
  2. Long press on any message in a chat.
  3. A pop-up will appear with six emoji reactions and a plus next to them.
  4. Select one of the emoji reactions to use it or tap on the "+" to open up the emoji keyboard.
  5. Your emoji reaction will appear below the message you previously selected.
WhatsApp gets emoji reactions: Here's which ones and how to use them photo 1

Which emoji does WhatsApp offer?

At launch, there were six emoji reactions available:

  • Thumbs up
  • Heart
  • Face with tears of joy
  • Face with mouth open
  • Crying face
  • Person with folded hands

WhatsApp expanded the feature to the full emoji keyboard from 11 July 2022, supporting all emoji and skin tones that you can typically use in messages.

Anything else you should know?

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is beta-testing a feature to enable or disable notifications for emoji reactions to messages you've sent. You can find the reaction notifications toggle under Settings > Notifications as a menu option called Reaction Notifications.