Your Quick Answer:
To react to Instagram messages with emojis, firstly, you need to update your Instagram app Messaging for a new interface to get this feature.
Once you come to your profile, you need to look for the icon with three horizontal lines on the top of the page in the right-hand corner.
After Opening the settings, you now choose the “Update Messaging” option and press update.
Now, you open your Instagram app and open the chat or message you want to react to. Then tap and hold the message you want to react on, then a series of different emojis will appear above the message.
Now, you can customize your reactions by using the “+” icon in the emoji panel or using the ones that are primarily shown.
How to React to Instagram Messages with Emojis:
Like all other applications, Instagram also keeps updating itself, and a new update has been added where you can react to any of the messages of your senders with emojis. This feature of reacting to messages might not be there in your app if it has not been updated recently, so firstly, you need to update your Instagram messages by the steps provided below:
Step 1: Three lines icons

Now opening your Instagram app, you need to go to your profile by tapping on the profile photo in the corner of the page. Once you arrive there, you need to look for the icon with three horizontal lines on the top of the page in the right-hand corner.
Step 2: Tap on Settings

Once you have found that icon, you tap on it, and it opens a series of more options like notifications, privacy, security, ads, help, about, and theme.
Step 3: Update Messaging
After Opening the settings, you now choose the “Update Messaging” option and press update. Now you will see that you are getting the option of reacting to each message.

How to Change Instagram DM Reactions:
First, the message liking feature came by which you could double-tap a message like it but now, with the new feature, you can customize your dm reactions to match your exact reactions. To change the Instagram DM reactions in your direct messages, all you need to do is follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Open Instagram DM
Firstly, you open your Instagram app and open the chat or message you want to react to. Then tap and hold the message you want to react on, then a series of different emojis will appear above the message.

These can very well even be customized according to your choices. At first, there will already be a set of emojis in that series visibly the heart emoji, the laughing emoji, the surprised emoji, the sad emoji, the angry emoji, and the thumbs up good work emoji. These are the basic reaction emojis.
Step 2: Use the “+” icon
In this series continuation, you will note a “+” sign at the end. Now press that, and the whole emoji section opens up just like it does on your keyboard when you type. Now choose which emoji you want to replace and choose which emoji you want to replace.

Now, if you are using an android, your work is done the moment you choose, while if you are on an Apple device, you need to click on the done button after choosing to replace the emoji. The message reaction will only be sent when the phone is connected or might sometimes not show. It is best to refresh the page once and try again because that might be a small glitch on the app’s part. No need for concern or worry in that case.
The Bottom Lines:
You can use any of the emojis from the series or the whole emoji stock in your phone by that plus icon and change your emoji choices anytime according to the exact mood you choose to display with any message you want.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Why do Instagram Emoji Reactions for Direct Messages not Work some Sometimes?
One of the reasons for not working your direct messages can be that the app is not up to date. You need to go to the apple store for an iPhone or the play store for an android and update your Instagram app and check again.
Another reason may be due to poor internet connection issues. For this, you can wait for a good connection or refresh the page and try again, for that matter. Sometimes it might just be an app glitch.
2. How to Undo Instagram DM reactions?
To undo the reaction that is sent in a message, you need to follow the steps:
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: Open the Instagram app on your device.
Step 2: Open your Instagram DMs by tapping the message icon in the top right corner.
Step 3: Open any of your Instagram chats.
Step 4: Double-tap any of the Instagram messages you want. You’ll see the emoji pop-up. Now react to it however you want to.
Step 5: Double-tap the message again, and just as easily, the reaction you gave earlier will be removed from that message.
3. How to turn on reactions for DM on Instagram?
You need to update the app to the latest version. Next, open one of your chats and press upon any message you want to react on, and see emoji reactions. Select one of the emojis to react or customize it to any other emoji by:
Press on a message in your DM first. Then, from the set of emojis that appear in the panel series above the message, tap and hold on to the emoji you would want to change or replace.
Choose the emoji you want from the options that appear after clicking on the “+” symbol in the panel. Press did, and now your customization reaction is done.
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