Message responses are fun and provide an easy way to react to someone’s message, saving you time and effort to write something that might seem unnecessary. Previously, emoji reactions were limited to Facebook comments and Facebook Messenger. But now you can also react with emojis in Instagram messages. The interesting thing is that you can react with any emoji you want. Wondering how to use custom emoji reactions on Instagram? This guide will help you.
With the new feature, you are not dependent on a few selected emoji reactions. You can react with fire emoji, kiss, hammer or anything you want. Emoji reactions will appear below your message on Instagram.
Let’s see how to react with custom emojis in Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) on mobile and PC.
How to React with Emojis in Instagram Posts on Mobile and PC
Facebook has recently released a new version of its Instagram messages similar to Facebook Messenger. So the features from FB Messenger were supposed to come to Instagram. These features include chat themes, disappearing mode, ability to forward and quote messages, and message reactions.
Let’s check out the steps to add emoji reaction to Instagram messages.
How to React to Instagram Posts with Emojis on Android and iPhone
Launch the Instagram app and open the chat. Touch and hold the message you want to react to. The emoji response panel will open with six emojis. Tap the emoji you want to react to.
If you want to react to the message with a custom emoji of your choice, tap the add (+) icon and select the emoji from the list.
Fly: Check out our guide on how to make yourself an emoji on Android.
Touch and hold the emoji in the Emoji panel to replace the existing emojis with your favorite smiley. Then select the emoji that needs to be added to the panel. Tap the checkmark icon (Android) or press the Done button (iPhone) to save the changes.
Once added, you can quickly react to other messages with the newly added emoji from the panel. Similarly, you can replace other emojis.
Pro Tip: Use search to quickly find your emojis
Tip 1: How to Change Double Tap or Heart Emoji Reaction on Instagram
A heart response occurs when you double-tap a message. You can also change this behavior and add a new reaction instead of heart in double tap. You will have to change the heart emoji reaction for that.
Tap and hold any message to open the emoji response panel. Tap and hold the heart emoji. Select the emoji you want and press the checkmark icon at the top or tap Done. Now double-tapping a message will send a new emoji response instead of a heart.
Tip 2: How to Restore Old Emoji Responses
If you like the emoji reactions that Instagram offers, you can manually change the emojis to the originals as shown above. However, the easier way would be to reset the reactions.
Note: Wondering what the various stickers mean on Instagram? Check out our guide explaining the meaning of Instagram stickers.
How to React to Instagram Posts with Emojis on PC
After a long hiatus, Instagram has finally introduced the ability to check messages from a computer without an extension. Since Instagram’s web app has a messaging feature, you can also react to messages using emoji on it.
To do this, open the chat in which you want to react to a message. Hover your mouse over the message. The emoji reaction icon will appear. Click on it and you will be greeted by various emojis. Select the emoji you want to react to. Use the scroll bar to find more emojis.
Note: As of now, you cannot change the double tap behavior for Instagram messages on PC. So the same old heart will be sent.
How to React to Instagram Post?
To remove an emoji reaction on Instagram mobile apps, tap the emoji below the message. A new screen will open. Tap the emoji to remove it.
Click the emoji below the message to send an emoji response on the computer.
From the popup that opens, click on your emoji to remove it.
Instagram Emoji Responses Not Working
If you can’t react to Instagram messages with emoji, the feature should not be available in your country yet. Instagram is slowly rolling out the feature. If there are others in your country, you should update the Instagram app. Once this is done, restart your phone and try again.
You should also update the Instagram messaging feature. For this, open the Instagram app and go to your profile. Tap the three-bar icon. Select Settings, then Update messages. If the emoji reactions still aren’t working for you, check out other ways to fix the issue using the troubleshooting tips outlined in our post for Instagram themes. The same can be used here.
Next: Want to check the first message from an Instagram chat? Check how to do this at the next link without scrolling.
