Apart from noteworthy features like personalized phone calls, live voicemail, StandBy mode, and FaceTime improvements, the iOS 17 update is packed with several hidden and fun add-ons. One such addition is the ability to create live stickers from any photo and use them across the supported apps on iPhone. Here’s how you can create and use live stickers on your iPhone.
Before we start, note that the ability to create and use live stickers is available on iPhones running iOS 17 or above. If you have an eligible iPhone and want to try the latest iOS version before the public rollout, read our dedicated guide to enroll in iOS 17 beta program.
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What Are Live Stickers in iOS 17
iOS 17 offers a new stickers drawer that lets you access all your emojis, Memojis, and other sticker packs in one place. Apple even goes a step ahead and lets you create live stickers from your own photos.
With iOS 16, Apple added a neat trick to lift the main object from a photo. You can now use the same to turn any object into a sticker. Let’s check it in action, shall we?
How to Create Live Stickers on iPhone
You can use the default Messages and the Photos app to create custom Live Stickers. Let’s first start with the Messages app.
Create Live Stickers in the Messages App
The brand-new stickers menu is available in the Messages app. You can use it to create and add live stickers.
1. Open an iMessage conversation in the Messages app.
2. Tap the + icon beside the text box. Select Stickers.
3. The stickers menu shows emojis and memojis by default. Tap the stickers icon. Select + to create stickers from photos.
4. It opens the photos menu. Select a picture. The Photos app automatically detects the object.
5. Tap Add Sticker. Your sticker is ready to send in the conversation.
Create Live Stickers in the Photos App
You can create live stickers in the Photos app too. In our testing, we did run into errors while creating live stickers from the Messages app. The experience is much better on the Photos app. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Open the Photos app and select a sticker. Long-tap on an object.
2. Tap Add Sticker from the pop-up menu.
3. The Photos app creates a sticker out of it and adds it to the stickers drawer menu.
4. You can also tap Add Effect and add an Outline, Comic, Puffy, or Shiny effect to your newly added sticker. Selecting an outline or comic creates a realistic effect on your sticker.
Use Live Stickers on iPhone
Now that you have created several live stickers from existing pictures, it’s time to use them across conversations, photos, and documents.
Send Stickers in Conversations
1. Open an iMessage conversation on your iPhone. Tap + and select Stickers.
2. Select your live sticker, check the preview, add a comment if you want, and hit send.
Add Live Stickers to Photos on iPhone
Stickers are now available in the Markup tool too. You can use it to add stickers to photos on your iPhone.
1. Select a picture in the Photos app and tap Edit at the top. Enable the markup tool.
2. Select + in the bottom right corner. Tap Add Sticker.
3. It opens the familiar stickers menu. Drag and drop the sticker into your photo and tap Done.
Add Live Stickers to Documents on iPhone
You can apply live stickers on documents too.
1. Open a PDF in the default Files app. Tap the Markup tool at the bottom.
2. Tap + and select Add Stickers.
3. Tap Done to save changes.
How to Rearrange or Delete Live Stickers on iPhone
When you create dozens of live stickers, managing and using them can be quite difficult at times. You have the option to rearrange or delete irrelevant stickers on iPhone.
1. Open the Stickers menu in iMessage (check the steps above).
2. Long-tap on a sticker and select Rearrange. All stickers go into a jiggle mode. Drag and drop stickers to arrange them based on your preference.
3. Tap – to delete the sticker.
Elevate Your Conversations on iPhone
The Stickers menu stays in the Emoji keyboard on iPhone, and Apple plans to make it available on third-party apps too. Once the developers add support for stickers, you can access the same from the Emoji menu on popular apps.
