Adding Stickers, Emojis, and More to iMessages
Messages are so much more fun and expressive when you add stickers, emojis, and animations to the messages you send to other Apple devices.
Adding emojis
Emojis are small pictures of faces, things, or animals that indicate a feeling, emotion, or idea. iOS provides an extensive gallery of emojis you can use in messages and documents. You can find many more emoji galleries in the App Store.
- In your message window, tap
or 
(bottom left) to open the emoji gallery. - Swipe left or right to browse the gallery, or tap a symbol beneath the emoji keyboard corresponding to a genre (Smileys & People, Sports, etc.) to jump to that category.
- Tap an emoji to add it to your message.
- Tap ABC to return to the regular keyboard.
iOS will suggest emojis that match the text message as you type. For instance, if you type “love” iOS will display a couple of heart emojis that you can add to or replace your text with. If you tap an emoji that is next to the word it represents, it will replace the word. Add a space and then tap the emoji and you will keep the word and add the emoji.
Adding stickers
Stickers include Memojis (personal emojis you create from pictures) and stickers created by your apps. For instance, if you have the American Airlines app installed on your device, you’ll find a gallery of stickers that include American Airlines logos and travel stickers.
- Open a conversation or start a new one.
- Tap
, then tap Stickers. - Drag the stickers list left or right to scroll to the different sticker galleries.
- Tap
to select from your Memojis. - Tap
to select from stickers you have created from your pictures.
Adding animations
Animations add emphasis to your message bubble or background when it is viewed by the recipient. Animations include balloons and fireworks that can add pizzazz and celebration to your message.
- Open a conversation or start a new one.
- Create your message (text and image if desired).
- Touch and hold Send
. - Choose between Bubble effects or Screen effects. You can preview bubble effects by tapping the right-hand side of the screen. Preview screen effects by scrolling left or right.
- Tap Send when ready.
Sending GIFs
There isn’t a better way to express emotion than with an animated GIF. There are thousands to choose from including many taken from popular movies and memes. Note: You may have to install a GIF app, such as GIPHY, from the App Store prior to use.
- Open a conversation or start a new one.
- Tap , then More.
- Scroll to and tap GIPHY. Choose from the gallery or use the search tool to find a GIF.
- Tap a GIF to add it to your message.
- Tap Send when ready.