The short version: long-press (or press-and-hold) any message in an Instagram DM, tap the plus icon next to the row of six default reactions, and you get the full emoji keyboard. That's it. Most people never find that plus icon and spend years stuck choosing between a heart and a laughing face.
I've watched people scroll past this feature for years. Instagram shows you six "quick react" emoji when you long-press a message, and most users assume that's the full list. It isn't. There's a tiny plus sign sitting at the end of that row, and it opens your phone's entire emoji keyboard, meaning you can react with literally anything, from a single 🫠 to a niche food emoji nobody asked for.
The step-by-step
Here's exactly how to do it, on both iPhone and Android, because the steps are nearly identical:
- Open the DM thread with the message you want to react to
- Press and hold on the message bubble (not a double-tap, a real hold, for about one second)
- A row of six emoji pops up above or below the message, usually ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 😡 👍
- Look to the right-hand end of that row for a small grey circle with a plus sign
- Tap it and your device's full emoji keyboard opens
- Pick any emoji you want and it attaches to that specific message as your reaction
If you want to remove a reaction, long-press the message again and tap the emoji you already used. It toggles off. Simple.
A worked example
Say you run a small online bakery account and a customer DMs you a photo of their birthday cake order, asking "is this still doable for Saturday?" You're mid-bake, hands covered in flour, and typing a full reply isn't happening right now. You long-press her message, tap the plus, and send back a 🎂 emoji reaction instead of a word. She sees it instantly, knows you've seen the request, and doesn't feel ignored. Ten minutes later you send the actual confirmation. That single emoji reaction bought you time without costing you the relationship. This is the whole point of the feature and most businesses running Instagram DMs for sales or support never use it.
Why most people only use the default six
Instagram deliberately makes the quick six easy and the full keyboard slightly hidden. That's not an accident. The app wants fast, low-friction reactions because they keep engagement numbers up without anyone typing a sentence. The uncomfortable bit nobody says out loud: a heart or a thumbs-up reaction often isn't a real response, it's a polite way of closing a conversation without replying. If someone sends you three paragraphs about a problem and you heart it, you haven't communicated anything except "I saw this and don't want to deal with it." The full emoji picker doesn't fix that. It just gives you more ways to not answer, dressed up as more expressive.
That matters more if you're running a business account. A customer asking about an order and getting a single thumbs up in reply can read it as dismissive rather than efficient, especially across age groups, since the research on that emoji's generational divide is well documented. Know your audience before you lean on reactions as a substitute for words.
Reactions versus replies: when to use which
I'd split it like this:
- Use a reaction when someone sends something that needs acknowledgment, not conversation: a meme, a photo, a "happy birthday," a simple yes/no you've already answered elsewhere
- Use a full reply when there's a question, a request for information, or anything with a decision attached
- Never use a reaction to avoid a difficult conversation you need to have, that's where people get hurt
- In business DMs, pair a reaction with a quick follow-up message so it reads as "noted, replying in a moment" rather than "seen, ignored"
The heart emoji colours matter
Once you've got the full keyboard open, colour choice stops being trivial. A red heart reaction reads as warm and personal, which is fine for a close friend's selfie but a slightly odd choice reacting to a client's invoice confirmation. A white heart carries a quieter, more formal or condolence-adjacent tone. A light blue heart has become shorthand in some circles for something closer to platonic affection or even a specific fandom reference, and it's different from the classic blue heart people grew up using. If you're reacting to a work DM, I'd default to thumbs up or a plain checkmark-style emoji over any heart colour, purely to avoid the wrong read.
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A few things that trip people up
- You can only react once per message with one emoji, sending a second reaction replaces the first, it doesn't stack them
- Group chats show everyone's reactions underneath the message, so the full-keyboard option is more visible and more scrutinised there than in one-to-one DMs
- Reactions don't send a notification the same way a message does on some settings, so don't assume a reaction alone counts as "I told them"
- If the plus icon isn't appearing, update the Instagram app, it's a feature that rolled out gradually and older app versions simply don't have it
None of this is complicated once you've found the plus icon once. The actual skill is knowing when a reaction is the right amount of effort and when it's a cop-out. If you're building out Instagram as a real channel for customer messages, that judgement call is worth training into your team, the same way you'd train tone of voice for email.
Frequently asked questions
How do I react to an Instagram message with any emoji, not just the default ones?
Long-press the message, then tap the plus icon at the end of the row of six quick-react emoji. That opens your full phone keyboard so you can pick literally any emoji.
Why can't I see the plus icon when I long-press a message?
You're probably on an older version of the Instagram app. Update it through your app store and the plus icon next to the default six reactions should appear.
Can I react with more than one emoji to the same message?
No. Sending a new reaction replaces your previous one on that message, you can't stack multiple emoji reactions on a single DM.
Does the other person get notified when I react with an emoji?
Yes, reactions generally trigger a notification, but don't rely on it as a guaranteed read receipt, especially if either of you has limited notifications turned on.
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