How to Create and Customize Stickers with iOS 17

if there's any feature I've used the most with iOS 17, it's Stickers. The feature builds off of Visual Lookup in iOS 16, which gave you the ability to cut and copy a subject from a photo and then paste it into a conversation via Messages. Now, you can turn those images into stickers—complete with effects and animations. Making stickers is not only super fun (especially when you're using silly photos of your friends), but it's quick and easy too. Below, we break down how to create and customize your very own stickers.

For a full list of all the top features of Apple's latest operating system, make sure to also check out our iOS 17 roundup.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Choose Your Image

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad and tap on the photo you're looking for, so that it's in full screen.
2. Long press on the subject until you see an outline appear around it.
3. On the pop-up menu, tap Live Sticker. From there, it'll automatically be added to the Sticker drawer via your iPhone/iPad keyboard or Markup tools for future use.
4. If you want to use this specific Sticker only once (and don't want to save it to your Sticker drawer), you can also tap on Share and send it via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Notes, and more.

You can also turn Live Photos into Stickers by following the same steps. The only difference is that it will automatically be animated (depending on the movements of the Live Photo). You can, however, turn that off—which we explain below.

Pro Tip: If the photo has a lot going on in the background or around the subject you want to create a Sticker of, we recommend either cropping the photo or zooming in on the subject to make it easier to capture. Otherwise, your sticker will include additional details that you may not want.

You also have the option to create Stickers within the Messages app. This method is slightly easier because it will automatically outline the subject for you.

1. Open a text window within the Messages app.
2. Tap the Emoji icon.
3. Tap on the Stickers icon.
4. Tap on the “+” sign in the left-hand corner.
5. Choose the photo you want to create a sticker from and tap on it.
6. Tap on Add Sticker.

You can also access them by tapping the “+” sign icon on the left side of the Messages text box. Then, scroll through the app drawer until you find Stickers and tap on it.

Customize the Stickers

When you add a new Sticker, you can also customize it with different effects.

1. If you want to add an effect immediately after creating a Sticker, tap Add Effect.
2. If it's a Live Photo, you can turn the feature off so that the Sticker remains still.
3. You'll also have the option to choose filters including Outline, Puffy, Comic, and Shiny.
4. You can customize a Sticker later on, too. Go to the Sticker drawer via the keyboard (I usually go through the Messages app) and tap on the Live Sticker icon on the lower right-hand side. Then, tap long-press on the Sticker you want to customize, tap Add Effect (or Edit Effect if there's already one applied to it), and tap Done.

Send Stickers With Messages

Once you create your Stickers, the fun begins: using them within text messages. It's as simple as sending an emoji or Memoji. You can access your Sticker drawer across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac (as long as you're running macOS Sonoma). Whenever you create new Stickers, they'll also sync across all your devices.

How to send Stickers on iPhone or iPad:

1. Open a text window with Messages.
2. Tap on the Emoji icon.
3. On the left-hand side, you'll see your Frequently Used Stickers. Tap on the Sticker you want and it'll appear in the Messages text box. Then, hit send.
4. To access your whole Sticker drawer, tap on the Sticker icon on the lower right. From there, you can scroll down to see all your Stickers. When you find the one you want, tap on it, and it'll appear in the text box. Then, hit send.

How to send Stickers on Mac:

1. Open a text window with Messages.
2. Click on the App Drawer and click Stickers.
3. Click on the Sticker you want to use and hit send.

As with emoji and Memoji, you can hold and drag the Stickers to apply to individual message bubbles within a thread (with iOS 17.2). All you have to do is open the Sticker drawer, long press on a specific Sticker, drag it toward the text, and let go. It'll then appear on the exact spot you placed it. You can apply multiple Stickers to one text message too.

Organize Your Sticker Drawer

Once you accumulate a bunch of Stickers, you can organize your Sticker drawer. You'll have the option to rearrange the order of the Stickers and delete stickers you no longer use.

To rearrange your Stickers:

1. Open the Sticker drawer on your iPhone or iPad and tap on the Sticker icon.
2. Long press on any Sticker and tap Rearrange.
3. Long press on a Sticker and drag it to the preferred spot.

To delete Stickers:

1. Open the Sticker drawer on your iPhone or iPad and tap on the Sticker icon.
2. Long press and tap Delete.

You can also delete Stickers while rearranging them by tapping on the “–” button on the left side of each one. Another method is to tap on the “+” sign icon on the left side of the Messages text box, find the Stickers app, and tap on it. Once your Sticker drawer is open, long press on a specific Sticker and tap Remove.

And if you're looking for inspiration on where to find humorous and outlandish images to make Stickers out of, I highly recommend scrolling through social media like X, TikTok, or anywhere else you might find funny content. It's where I continue to find my funniest stickers.