Turn Off FaceTime Gesture Reactions by Simple Steps on iOS 17

Hand gesture reactions are a feature available on iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. This feature allows you to add animations and 3D effects to your video calls by making hand gestures.

However, you might accidentally trigger these reactions, leading to awkward moments during important calls. If you want to avoid such situations, it’s essential to know how to disable gesture-based reactions on your iPhone. 

To turn off FaceTime reactions, go to Control Center and select Effects, then Reactions. By default, hand gesture reactions are turned on, but you can disable them by following the steps suggested below.

Additionally, Apple is releasing a new API with iOS 17.4 that will allow third-party video conferencing apps to disable gesture-based reactions by default. This feature will also be available on iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. 

While FaceTime reactions are an exciting addition to video calls, it’s important to be able to control them. You don’t want to accidentally flood the screen with hearts or other animations during important meetings or therapy sessions.

By following these steps, you can easily disable hand gesture reactions and enjoy a more controlled video call experience.

  1. Firstly, Launch the FaceTime app on your iPhone.
  2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open the Control Center.
  3. From the top-left corner, tap on Effects.
  4. Now, tap on the Reactions button so it’s no longer selected.
  5. Finally, swipe up to return to the FaceTime app.

Turn off Hand Gesture Reactions for Third-Party Apps on iPhone.

It’s interesting to note that Apple is launching a new API in iOS 17.4 that will allow third-party video conferencing apps to disable gesture-based reactions by default. This means that hand gesture reactions won’t be enabled automatically.