Instagram has announced a DMs update for the end of 2020. (direct messages).
The app now has a Messenger feature thanks to the latest update.
Colorful messages, replies, and emoji reactions are all included in this.
To express your feelings, you can choose from a variety of emojis.
The standard heart emoji has been replaced by a variety of other emojis, such as smiley faces, animals, and more.
Selfie stickers, including boomerangs, emojis, and selfies, are also an option.
Vanish mode is also available, allowing messages to disappear after they’ve been viewed.
If your Instagram emoji reactions aren’t working, read on to find out why and how you can fix the problem on both Android and iOS.

Why are Instagram emoji reactions not working?
Because you haven’t updated your messaging, Instagram emoji reactions aren’t working.
Your ability to use emojis will be limited if your messaging app hasn’t been updated.
As soon as late 2020, Instagram rolled out the Messenger feature.
You can now respond to Instagram messages with a variety of emojis thanks to the new messenger update.
If your messaging app has been updated, all you have to do to respond is hold down the “+” icon and select an emoji from the list.
How to react to Instagram messages with emojis
You’ll need to upgrade your messaging app to use emojis in Instagram messages.
Simply tap and hold the message you’d like to respond to, tap the “+” icon, and select the emoji you’d like!
Instagram will not update your messages for you automatically.
Navigate to your Instagram profile, tap on the menu icon, tap on “Settings,” and tap on “Update Messaging” to update messaging.
New messaging features, such as custom emoji responses to Direct Messages (DMs), are available with the messaging update.
There is also a vanish mode as well as different chat colors, replies, and other things like that.
Using emojis to respond to Instagram messages is easy:
1. Go to your Instagram profile and tap on the menu icon
Before anything else, you’ll need to head over to your Instagram page.
To do this, click on your profile picture in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
Please open the menu now.
To do this, select the menu option from the top navigation bar by tapping on it.
2. Tap on “Settings”
The menu will open after you tap on the menu icon.
There are numerous choices on the menu.
Settings, Archives, and more are all included in this section, as well as “Your activity.”
You’ll need to access your settings to make changes to your messaging.
As a result, to access your preferences, you must tap “Settings.”.
3. Select “Update Messaging”
Once you’ve clicked “Settings,” you’ll arrive at the settings page.
Multiple options are available on the settings page.
There are a variety of options, such as the ability to “Update Messaging” and “Follow and Invite Friends.”
To see “Update Messaging,” you must have not already updated your messaging.
It is necessary to first update messaging on Android/iOS to respond to Instagram messages with emojis
Tap on “Update Messaging” to do so.
4. Tap on “Update”
You’ll be taken to the “There’s a New Way to Message on Instagram” page after clicking “Update Messaging.”
The page explains what the update entails.
Among the new features is the ability to change your chat color, respond to messages with any emoji, and more.
Facebook Messenger isn’t required to complete this task.
Instagram’s messaging feature can be updated by clicking the “Update” button.
5. Tap and hold the message, then tap on “+”
You can now reply to Instagram messages with emojis after updating the messaging feature on Instagram!
To begin, go to the Instagram message you want to respond to and click on the “Reply” button.
Tap and hold the message for a few seconds before you can proceed.
A chat bubble with six different emojis will appear.
It’s possible to respond to a message with one of the emojis.
Tap the “+” icon if you want to see the full list of emojis you can use to respond to the message.
6. Select the emoji that you want to react with
Emojis are available to respond to a message when the “+” icon is clicked.
To change the default emojis, go to “Your reactions” and select “Customize”.
Once you’ve selected an emoji, tap it to replace it.
The “Reset” button can also be used to erase all of your customizations.
Simply search for the emoji you want to use to respond to a message and select it from the drop-down menu.
Simply tap on the emoji you want to respond to, like the smiling face with the halo.
7. You’ve successfully reacted with an emoji
The emoji will appear beneath the message of the person you selected after you tap on it.
Congratulations, you’ve successfully used an emoji in response to the Instagram message!
You also have the option of altering your response at any time.
Tap and hold the message, then choose an emoji that best expresses your feelings about it!
Conclusion
Keep in mind that you can only use a different/custom emoji to respond to Instagram messages/DMs if you’ve updated your messaging.
Because they haven’t updated their messaging, many Instagram users are unable to respond to messages with emojis.
Instagram does not notify or remind you of this update, so it’s easy to overlook.
In addition, even if you’ve updated the Instagram app, messaging will not be updated.
This is because the feature isn’t included in the Instagram app update.
As a result, you’ll have to go into Instagram’s settings and do it yourself.