How to Send Emoji and Sticker Tapbacks to Messages on Your iPhone

Tapback responses to messages on your iPhone have been around since Apple launched iOS 10 in 2016. This is an eight-year-old feature most of us probably use daily but don’t know it’s actually called Tapback.

Tapback allows you to respond to a text message instantly with an emoji like a heart, thumbs up or down, and more by long-pressing on the message bubble you wish to respond to. While initially limited to only six glyphs, Apple upgraded the Tapbacks you can send and receive with iOS 18. Here’s what’s new and how to use it.

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To illustrate the benefits of Apple’s upgraded Tapback options in iOS 18, we’ll use the example of gently letting my mother know why buying two toddlers plastic swords for Christmas is not a good idea. I’m not a helicopter parent, but I do draw the line at saying, “Here, children, beat each other with these.” Some situations show generational gaps more than others. I grew up with lawn darts.

To respond to a message with the latest Tapback options in iOS 18:

1. Long-press on the message you want to respond to. Tap the grey smiley face or swipe left; the grey smiley face will be the last of the pre-populated Tapback options.
2. Tap the grey smiley face.

1. Once you tap the grey smiley face, the standard list of emoji and custom stickers is displayed.
2. Select one. Your choice will be immediately sent to the recipient. In this instance, I chose the quizzical face Emoji with a thumb to its chin, hoping to delicately suggest this decision requires a bit more thoughtfulness.

Deleting a Tapback

You can delete a Tapback message you’ve already sent. Just long-press on the message bubble again. You’ll see your previously sent emoji (or sticker) highlighted in blue. Tap it and it will be deleted instantly. That’s all there is to it!

This may have been obvious to some users already, but there’s often quite a bit of utility and fun in the basics. Ensure you and your recipient are upgraded to iOS 18 so you’re sharing the experience. When iOS 18.2 arrives later this week, folks with an iPhone 15 Pro or later will soon be able to create unique custom Tapbacks using Genmoji, thanks to Apple Intelligence. We’ll see how Apple evolves Tapback functionality in the future, but for now, there’s plenty of fun and sarcasm to be had. Enjoy!