WhatsApp for iOS now rolling out long-anticipated Reactions feature, here’s how to use it

After many months of testing and much waiting, WhatsApp finally launches its eagerly awaited Reactions feature. Mark Zuckerberg , Meta’s CEO, made the announcement in a Facebook post .. With that, iOS and Android users will be able to react to a message as similarly as they can on Instagram.

Reactions began rolling out today. This means that it may take several days or even weeks before the feature starts to work for everyone. As of now, people will be able to react with six different emoji: thumbs up, red heart, laughing face, surprised face, teary face, and hands together as thanks/prayer.

WhatsApp also posted how to use the Reactions feature in its FAQ:

1. Long press on a message.
2. Tap to select one of the displayed emoji.

Just like Instagram, users can change their reactions to a different one by long-pressing the same message and changing the emoji, or just clicking on the same one to remove it.

WhatsApp notes some details about the new feature :

• You can only add one reaction per message;
• Reactions to disappearing messages will disappear when the message disappears;
• It’s not possible to hide reactions or reaction counts;
• Recipients might see your reaction before you remove it or if removing it wasn’t successful. If removing an allergic reaction is unsuccessful, you won’t receive notification.

In the near future, WABetaInfo says WhatsApp is working on the ability to let users add any emoji as a reaction.

Apart from this feature, the company has been rolling several other features, such as the ability to call up to 32 people, create a Community, and more.