What You Can Change About Emojis on Instagram

Instagram lets you change the emoji that appears when you react to a post or comment, and you can also adjust which emojis show up in your keyboard when you type. The reaction emoji — the one that pops up when you tap and hold a post — can be swapped for any emoji you want. Your keyboard emoji settings depend on your phone's operating system, not Instagram itself, so the steps differ between iPhone and Android.

The reaction emoji change is the quickest adjustment. The keyboard emoji settings require you to go into your phone's system settings rather than the Instagram app. Both changes are permanent until you switch them again.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Instagram reaction emoji (the one that appears when you tap and hold a post) can be changed to any emoji by opening your profile, tapping the menu, and selecting Preferences.
  • Keyboard emoji settings are controlled by your phone's operating system, not by Instagram, so iPhone and Android users follow different steps.
  • On iPhone, you enable emoji by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and adding the Emoji keyboard if it is not already there.
  • On Android, most keyboards come with emoji built in, but you can read a third-party keyboard app like Gboard or SwiftKey if you want different emoji options.
  • Once you change your reaction emoji, it stays changed across all your Instagram activity until you manually switch it back.

How to Change Your Instagram Reaction Emoji

Open Instagram and go to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom right corner. Tap the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) in the top right, then scroll down and tap Preferences. Look for the option labeled Reaction or Like Emoji — the exact wording varies by app version.

Tap that option and a grid of emoji will appear. Scroll through and select the emoji you want to use as your reaction. Once you tap it, that emoji becomes your new reaction emoji. The next time you tap and hold a post or comment, your chosen emoji will appear instead of the default heart.

You can change this emoji as often as you want by following the same steps. There is no limit to how many times you switch it.

Changing Emoji on iPhone

If you want to add or switch emoji keyboards on iPhone, open Settings and tap General. Then tap Keyboard, then Keyboards. You will see a list of your active keyboards. If Emoji is not listed, tap Add New Keyboard at the bottom, scroll down, and tap Emoji.

Once the Emoji keyboard is active, it will appear as an option whenever you tap a text field in Instagram or any other app. You can switch between your regular keyboard and emoji by tapping the globe icon at the bottom left of your keyboard. The emoji keyboard shows different categories — tap the icons at the bottom to move between them.

If you want to remove the emoji keyboard later, go back to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, tap Edit, and swipe left on Emoji, then tap Delete.

Changing Emoji on Android

Most Android phones come with emoji built into the default keyboard. When you tap a text field in Instagram, your keyboard should show an emoji button — usually a smiley face icon. Tap it to switch to emoji view. If your keyboard does not have an emoji button, your phone may be using an older keyboard version.

To add a different emoji keyboard, open the Google Play Store and search for Gboard or SwiftKey. read and install the app, then go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard. Tap Default keyboard and select the new keyboard you installed. From then on, that keyboard will appear when you tap a text field.

You can switch between keyboards by holding down the space bar while typing, or by tapping the keyboard icon in the bottom right corner of your keyboard. Different keyboards sometimes have different emoji sets, so trying a new one may give you access to emoji variations or designs you prefer.

Why Your Emoji Might Look Different on Different Devices

The same emoji can look different depending on whether you are using iPhone, Android, or a computer. A smiley face on iPhone might look slightly different on an Android phone, even though it is the same emoji. This happens because Apple, Google, and other companies design their own versions of each emoji.

When you send an emoji to someone else, they see their phone's version of that emoji, not yours. So if you send a heart emoji from iPhone to an Android user, they see Google's version of the heart, not Apple's. This does not affect how the emoji works — it is just a visual difference.

Troubleshooting Emoji Problems

If you changed your reaction emoji but it is not showing up, try closing Instagram completely and opening it again. Sometimes the app needs to refresh to display the change. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the app switcher, find Instagram, and swipe it up to close it. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Instagram, tap Force Stop, then reopen the app.

If the emoji keyboard is not appearing when you type, check that you have added it to your keyboard list. On iPhone, go back to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and make sure Emoji is there. On Android, check that you have set your chosen keyboard as the default in Settings > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Default keyboard.

If emoji are showing as blank squares or question marks, your phone's operating system may be out of date. Check for system updates in your phone's settings. Older phones sometimes do not support the newest emoji, so very recent emoji might not display correctly on older devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a custom emoji as my Instagram reaction?

No. Instagram only lets you choose from the standard emoji set. You cannot upload a custom image or design to use as your reaction emoji. You are limited to the emoji that appear in the grid when you tap Reaction in your Preferences.

Does changing my reaction emoji affect old posts I already liked?

No. Changing your reaction emoji only affects new reactions you make going forward. Old posts you already reacted to will still show your old emoji. The change takes effect the next time you react to something.

Will my friends see my custom reaction emoji?

Yes. When you react to a post or comment with your chosen emoji, everyone who sees that post will see your emoji reaction. Your choice is visible to anyone viewing the post, not just you.

Can I have different reaction emoji for different posts?

No. You can only have one reaction emoji active at a time across all of Instagram. Every reaction you make uses the same emoji until you change it in your Preferences.

What happens if Instagram removes the emoji I chose as my reaction?

Instagram does not remove emoji from the standard set. However, if for some reason your chosen emoji becomes unavailable, Instagram will revert you to the default heart emoji automatically. This is extremely rare.