If you have iOS 17 installed on your iPhone or you’re running macOS Sonoma on your Mac, there is a feature you might want to disable before using FaceTime for a meeting or for calling in sick.
As reported by The Verge, some people are unintentionally making use of a new feature that adds virtual emoji, virtual fireworks, and other effects during video calls involving business meetings or even telehealth calls.
SimplePractice, a company that offers a telehealth platform, is warning users about the new feature.
As shown in a Mastodon post by Matt Haughey — who says he had a friend who saw the fireworks on a therapy call after giving a thumbs up in response to a question from his therapist — SimplePractice is notifying patients that Apple devices “may show emojis during video calls” and that SimplePractice doesn’t have control over the settings. SimplePractice also discusses the reactions in an FAQ and has instructions on how to turn reactions off on both iOS and macOS.
The video reactions are a new feature of iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, which Apple released in September. When the “Reactions” are enabled users can use hand gestures to display eight possible reactions they can activate with their hands. Guess what? They’re enabled by default. Making a heart shape shows hearts while giving two thumbs up sets off the virtual fireworks.
Since the reactions all use common hand gestures it is easy to set them off without actually meaning to do so. While this can be fun when video calling with friends and family, it’s not so much fun if you’re in the middle of a telemeeting or on a teledoc call with your physician.
How Do I Turn Off Reactions on My Device?
To turn off gesture-based reactions on iOS 17, do the following:
- Create a test video call
- Swipe down from the upper right corner of your iPhone or iPad to activate the Control Center
- Tap Video Effects
- Tap Reactions to disable the feature
To turn off gesture-based reactions on macOS Sonoma, do the following:
- Create a test video call
- Click the green video camera icon at the top of your Mac’s menu bar
- Select Reactions to disable the feature
