Since iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple has included Messages-like reactions in FaceTime that lighten up your video with visual effects. But rather than triggering them with words, you can trigger them using physical hand gestures.
You can trigger these layer screen effects with a long press of your picture in FaceTime which brings up a menu of reaction options, or you can go hands-free and trigger the same reactions simply using physical gestures in view of the camera and away from your face.
For example, one thumb up triggers a Like, and two thumbs up are attended by Fireworks. Similarly, one thumb down counts as a dislike, and two thumbs down initiates a rain shower.
There are eight reactions you can perform on a FaceTime video call. They include:
And here are the physical gestures that you can perform to trigger the effects:
These reactions work by default in FaceTime, and third-party apps can adopt the effects as well.
FaceTime reaction effects are great fun when chatting with friends and family, but there may be certain occasions when you don't want to be accidentally triggering reactions, such as when you're on a work call, or during a virtual appointment with your therapist. Fortunately, they aren't hard to disable. Here's how.
If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS Sonoma or later, the FaceTime effects work just the same, and fill your video frame with a 3D effect expressing how you feel.
Note that video effects options no longer appear in the Control Center in macOS Sonoma and later versions, and instead have their home in a dedicated green FaceTime menu bar dropdown, which also includes a mini webcam view and clickable buttons to manually trigger Reactions.
To disable reactions on your Mac, simply click the Reactions button in the FaceTime menu bar dropdown so that it is no longer illuminated.
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