WhatsApp introduced message reactions in 2022.
The feature rolled out in May 2022, allowing users to respond to messages with six preset emoji: thumbs up, red heart, laughing face, surprised face, crying face, and folded hands. Reactions gave users a quick way to acknowledge or express emotion without sending a separate text message.
Message reactions arrived as part of a broader set of WhatsApp updates announced around the same period. The company also increased the maximum size of group chats from 256 to 512 participants and expanded the file-sharing limit from 100 megabytes to 2 gigabytes.
A common source of confusion is the difference between WhatsApp’s initial reaction rollout and later expansion. In July 2022, WhatsApp added support for using any emoji as a reaction, rather than limiting users to the original preset choices. Reactions are also different from Facebook’s older reaction system, which launched globally in 2016.