Emoji Reactions Coming to Gmail
It’s 2023. Some think there are no conventions to be followed anymore, which is why you see people sharing deeply
personal stories on LinkedIn. So it’s only fitting that Gmail is bringing emoji reactions to email, a means
of communication that is primarily used for formal conversations nowadays. But who says you can’t loosen up
a little and respond to your boss or your teacher with a smiley emoji instead of sophisticated words strung
together?
Gmail users will soon be able to react to emails with emojis and 9to5Google reports that the feature can now
be enabled on the Android Gmail app.
Your email may or may not have found me well, but here’s an emoji <3
According to TheSpAndroid’s AssembleDebug, Gmail will show you a smiley icon before the three-dot menu to let you access emoji reactions as a way to “respond quickly and add personality.” If someone has already reacted before you, you will be able to react by just tapping on emojis.
The app will allow users to react to emails with any emoji of their choice, and a single email can have as many as 50 reactions. Android and iOS Gmail users will see the reaction in their original email, while others will receive it as a reply.
It’s not clear yet whether the web version of Gmail will also get emoji reactions, but it’s quite likely, as Google would want to provide a consistent experience across the web and mobile.
Gmail is not the first app to introduce emoji reactions. Microsoft Outlook and some other email apps already have the functionality. Since Gmail is the most popular email service provider, support for emoji reactions might encourage more people to react to emails with emojis.
Whether the feature will prove to be an effective way of communication for times when words are not needed or make things awkward and way too casual remains to be seen.
