Reactions Can Be Turned Off By Default

With iOS 17, Apple introduced video reactions, a feature that lets you do a small animation by making a hand gesture when you’re on a video call.

For instance, if you make a peace sign with one hand, balloons will start floating up around you, and if you make a heart, gestures you’ll see floating hearts instead.

While this feature is useful if you’re talking to a loved one, things might get a bit awkward when you’re in a business meeting with your boss or in a medical consultation or online therapy session. These can be turned off, but the setting isn’t in an obvious place, and you also have to set it individually for each app where you don’t want to use them.

Luckily, with iOS 17.4, developers now have the option to turn off reactions from the get-go, making it safer for you to move your hands without worrying about silly animations coming up unexpectedly. You can still turn them on if you really want them in those apps, but developers can make sure they’re off to start with.