How-To

How to React to Messages on Instagram

By Brian Burgess

Published December 12, 2023

When you receive messages, you want an easy way to react to messages on Instagram. We’ll show you how from your phone or computer.

Want to react to messages on Instagram? Good news. You can respond with emojis on your phone or computer with the web version on your desktop.

There are different ways to react with emojis to messages on Instagram. For example, you can double-tap a message for a quick reply or find the perfect reaction by digging into the emoji library.

So, if you want to know how to react to your messages on Instagram, we’ll show you how to do it from your phone or tablet while on the go or from your computer if you use the web version. We’ll also look at customizing the double-tap reaction emoji from your iPhone or Android device.

React to Messages with Emoji on Mobile

Reacting to messages on Instagram from your phone or tablet on Android or iOS is straightforward using the following steps.

1. Launch Instagram on your phone or tablet and open a conversation in the message you want to react to.
2. To add a heart emoji, double-tap the message.
3. If you want to use a different emoji, tap and hold the message until you see the menu with the emoji bar.
4. You can tap the “+” icon to see even more emoji reactions if the ones displayed don’t include what you want to use.
5. After tapping the “+” icon, you can access all available emojis.
6. To make things easier, search for the specific emoji you want to use for your reaction.

Remove Reactions to Instagram Messages

You can easily remove reactions from messages if you accidentally use the wrong emoji.

1. Tap the emoji displayed on the message you reacted to.
2. Select Tap to remove when the Reactions menu appears.
3. Alternatively, you can easily remove an emoji from a message by double-tapping it.

React to Messages on Your Computer

If you are on Instagram on your computer, reacting to messages on Instagram varies a bit.

1. Launch a browser and sign into your Instagram account on your PC, Mac, Chromebook, or Linux computer.
2. Select Messages from the left panel and find the message you want to react to.
3. To add a heart emoji, double-click the message.
4. If you want to find another emoji, hover your mouse over the message and click the emoji icon.
5. Now, choose the emoji you want to use from the available options.
6. To remove a reaction, click on the emoji icon you used for the message.
7. Click Select to remove when the menu appears.

Change Your Instagram Message Reaction Emoji

As we noted, you can quickly react to messages on Instagram by double-tapping or double-clicking the message. But you might want the default to be something other than a heart emoji. You can customize the default reaction on your mobile device.

To Change the Double Tap Reaction Emoji

1. Launch Instagram on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device and open a message.
2. Tap and hold a message and select the “+” icon for additional emoji possibilities.
3. When the emoji reaction menu appears, tap Customize at the top.
4. At the top, tap the heart emoji or the one set as your double-tap reaction.
5. Choose the new double-tap reaction you’d like to use as your default and tap Done (or checkmark on Android).

If you want to change it back to Instagram’s default heart icon, go back in and tap the Reset button (back arrow on Android), and you’ll be good to go.

Reacting to Messages on Instagram

When you want to react to a message, Instagram makes it a breeze from your phone or computer. Reaction emojis quickly let the sender know you saw a message without you typing a response. It’s beneficial if you receive several messages on the platform each day.

It’s also worth noting that the desktop version of Instagram doesn’t include the ability to customize or change your quick reaction emoji. So, when you double-click a message, it defaults to the heart emoji.