Twitter has announced support for emoji reactions in its direct messages. The new feature lets you respond to DMs without having to type anything, similar to the reactions available to iMessage users when they want to acknowledge messages without sending a proper reply.
To use the new emoji reactions in Twitter, either tap the small heart icon with the plus sign merging into it that appears to the right of each message bubble, or double-tap a message to reveal an emoji reactions menu.
There are seven emoji at present, including staple reactions like laughing face, sad face, thumbs up, and heart. All participants in a conversation get notified when you lay down an emoji, but you can also undo them at any time.
sliding into your DMs like 😂 😲 😢 ❤️ 🔥 👍 👎 — Twitter (@Twitter) January 22, 2020
Twitter first started testing emoji reactions last year, but the feature has now rolled out on mobile and web. Twitter's support page notes that anyone using an older version of its official app will only see text instead of emoji.