How to use Facebook Reactions

Facebook has rolled out its Reactions feature, which lets you use new buttons for Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry for when a Like just doesn't cut it. Here's how to use new Facebook Reactions - and how to get them if you don't see them.

A year ago we reported that Facebook had rolled out its Reactions feature, which lets you use buttons for Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry for when a Like just doesn't cut it. Now that feature is coming to Messenger, too, and rolling out on iOS right now. You can add emoji to a message simply by holding it and selecting one.

How to use Facebook Reactions

Facebook Reactions work in exactly the same way as the Like button used to, which is both good and bad.
The good: They're simple to use. You tap on the Like button to access Reactions, and if you later change your mind you can tap on it again to recall your support. Facebook will show the three most popular Reactions underneath each post.
It's now much easier to work out what to do when you want to show support for a post but don't want to appear crass. For example, you're not really happy that your best friend's cat has died - are you? Now you can choose another Reaction (we recommend the Sad button).
The bad: If you show empathy with a lot of sad posts or express your anger at a lot of unhappy posts, you'll see more of that type of content in your News Feed in the same way that Facebook will show you more of the sort of posts you Like.