Messenger is a popular messaging app developed by Facebook that allows users to communicate with friends and family. One fun feature of Messenger is the ability to react to messages using emojis. Emojis provide a quick and easy way to respond to messages without having to type out a text reply. But with hundreds of emojis available, which ones can you use as reactions in Messenger?
The Original Emoji Reactions
When Facebook first launched the emoji reaction feature in Messenger in 2016, there were only 5 emojis available: Thumbs Up, Heart, Laugh, Sad, and Angry. These remained the only emoji reaction choices for several years. The original emoji reactions are:
- 👍 Thumbs Up – Used to indicate you like or agree with a message
- ❤️ Red Heart – Used to express love or affection for a message
- 😆 Laughing Face – Used to indicate you find a message funny or hilarious
- 😢 Crying Face – Used to express sadness in response to a message
- 😠 Angry Face – Used to express anger or displeasure with a message
These first 5 emoji reactions covered some of the most common emotional responses to messages. The thumbs up quickly became the most popular and most frequently used react.
Expanded Emoji Reactions
In 2017, Facebook expanded the emoji reaction options in Messenger from 5 to over 30. This gave users far more ways to quickly react to messages. Some of the new emoji reactions included:
- 🎉 Party Popper – Used to celebrate special occasions or express excitement
- 😮 Face with Open Mouth – Used to convey surprise or shock
- ❓ Question Mark – Used to express confusion or ask for clarification
- 😥 Sad but Relieved Face – Used to show mixed emotions
- 💔 Broken Heart – Used to express extreme sadness or grief
The expanded emoji reactions cover a wider range of emotions and contexts. Users can now react in more nuanced ways that better communicate their feelings about a message.
How to Use Emoji Reactions
Using emoji reactions in Messenger is easy and straightforward. Here are the steps:
- Open an individual or group conversation in Messenger
- Tap and hold on a message in the conversation
- A pop-up will appear with the available emoji reactions
- Tap on your desired emoji reaction to send it
You’ll see the chosen emoji appear below the message you reacted to. Others in the conversation will be able to see the reactions as well. To remove a reaction, just tap and hold on the message again and tap on the highlighted reaction emoji to remove it.
Current Emoji Reactions
As of October 2023, here are all the emoji reactions currently available in Messenger:
| Emoji | Name |
|---|---|
| 👍 | Thumbs Up |
| ❤️ | Red Heart |
| 😆 | Laughing Face |
| 😢 | Crying Face |
| 😠 | Angry Face |
| 😮 | Face with Open Mouth |
| 🎉 | Party Popper |
| ❓ | Question Mark |
| 😥 | Sad but Relieved Face |
| 💔 | Broken Heart |
| 👏 | Clapping Hands |
| 🔥 | Fire |
| 💯 | Hundred Points |
| 😂 | Face with Tears of Joy |
| 🙏 | Folded Hands |
| 🤣 | Rolling on the Floor Laughing |
| 💕 | Two Hearts |
| 😘 | Face Blowing a Kiss |
| 😍 | Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes |
| 🤩 | Star-Struck |
| 👌 | Ok Hand |
| 💪 | Flexed Biceps |
| 🙌 | Raising Hands |
Facebook occasionally adds new emoji reactions or removes less popular ones, so this list may change over time. But these represent all the current options as of late 2023.
Emoji Reaction Limitations
While emoji reactions open up more ways to quickly respond to messages, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- Only one emoji reaction can be added per user per message. You can’t add multiple separate reactions to a single message.
- Group conversations have reaction limits based on the number of participants. In large groups, some reactions may show a counter instead of individual emojis if the limit is reached.
- Not all emoji reactions display properly in all messaging apps. Reactions may show up as text in some cases.
- It’s not possible to customize or create your own emoji reactions within Messenger.
So while emoji reactions are handy for quick responses, traditional text replies may be better for more nuanced or lengthy conversations.
Emoji Skin Tone Support
As part of Facebook’s expanded support for diverse emoji skin tones, some Messenger reactions allow different skin tones. Currently, these emoji reactions offer customizable skin tones:
- 👍 Thumbs Up
- 👏 Clapping Hands
- 🙏 Folded Hands
To change the skin tone, tap and hold on the message to bring up the reactions, then tap and hold on the desired emoji reaction. A popup will appear allowing you to select from different skin tones before sending the reaction.
Conclusion
Emoji reactions on Messenger provide a fun and convenient way to quickly respond to messages without typing. With reactions ranging from thumbs up to clapping hands to hearts, there are diverse options to represent different emotions and contexts. While there are some limits to emoji reactions, they continue to be a popular feature that brings more expressiveness to daily conversations on Messenger.