How to Make a Sticker on iPhone & Where You Can Use Them

Did you know that you can make your own iMessage stickers out of iPhone photos? Photos can be turned into emojis that show just the subject without the background, Live Photos can become animated stickers and shared like GIFs. We’ll also cover how to use Stickers on iPhone’s Messages, Photos, and other apps.

How to Make Stickers on iPhone

Almost every iPhone photo can be turned into a sticker, but some make better stickers than others. Here’s how to make iPhone stickers:

1. Open the photo you want to convert into a personalized emoji.
2. Long-press on the subject until a menu appears on top.
3. Tap Add Sticker.
4. The sticker will appear in the Sticker drawer, where you can add an effect or leave it as it is fur future use.

Now you know how to create a sticker on iPhones using photos you've taken with your phone! You can also do the same with with any images you download from the internet or screenshot. Any image that has a clear subject can make a great sticker. Now that you've made one, let's learn how to add effects or animate it. For more iPhone tips, don't forget to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

How to Edit Stickers on iPhone

You can go straight into editing a sticker when you make it, but you can also go in at a later time to make whatever changes you want. Here's how to edit stickers on iPhone even long after you've made them.

1. Navigate wherever you favorite place is to access stickers from. I like to open the Messages app, create a new message, tap the plus icon, and select Stickers. But you can also access stickers by creating a new sticker, editing a photo using Markup, and essentially via any app that gives you access to emojis and offers a specific tab for stickers.
2. Long-press on the sticker you wish to edit.
3. Tap Add Effect.
4. At the bottom you can pick between Original, Outline, Comic, Puffy, and Shiny. You can tap on them to see what they look like in full size. Tap Done once you are happy with how your sticker looks.
5. If the photo you turned into a sticker was Live, you'll see either the "LIVE" or "OFF" in the top left corner. Tap it to turn it off you if wish to make the sticker static. You can always go back in and change it back to Live if you wish. If I really like a sticker, I sometimes create two versions, an animated one and a regular one, so I don't have to edit them in between use.

Unfortunately, there is no way to edit what part of the photo is selected for the sticker. I often find that a tail is cut of one of my pets or there's an extra shadow included, and as of right now, ther is no way for the user to add or remove from the sticker. It is sometimes possible to have a photo with two separate subjects that lets you long-press on the individual subjects and make two different stickers.

How Do You Use Stickers on iPhone

Now that you know how to make and edit stickers, we'll teach you how to actually use them! There are many fun ways you can incorporate your custom-made photo stickers in your daily life. Here are some of the most popular ways to use them:

Send Them In the Messages App

You can send custom stickers to your loved ones via the Messages app. It is so fun to see someone's reaction to seeing a sticker of themselves, it's like having their very own emoji! Just open a message thread with someone, or star a new one, tap the plus icon, select Stickers, and pick a sticker to send like you would a regular message.

It is also possible to follow the steps above to access stickers and drag a sticker from the Sticker drawer and place it anywhere in your thread. Keep in mind that this is only possible with Apple users and an Android user will not see it in the same way, they will only receive a notification saying that you responded with a sticker/image and they will see it as a regular new message.

React to Messages with Stickers

The emojis that you can react to messages in the Messages app are called Tapbacks. The iOS 18 update made it possible to react to messages with any emoji and sticker. Just long-press the message you wish to react to, then either swipe left and tap the gray emoji icon to seem more emoji and sticker options or tap Add Sticker.

Save a Received Sticker

Before the iOS 18 update, the only way to save a cool sticker that someone sends you is to ask them to send you the image or take a screenshot, then create it n your phone. Now, just long-press on the sticker someone sends you and select Save to Stickers.

Add Stickers to Your Photos

It can be fun to add a sticker to photos on your iPhone! You can do this to add someone to a photo that wasn't originally in it or just to spruce up an image. You can do this by opening a photo in the Photos app, editing it, and using markup to add a sticker. You can place the sticker anywhere on the image and adjust the size and orientation.

Share Stickers via Apps

You can use or share stickers via many different apps. You can insert them into a note in the Notes app just like an emoji.

Send them via Facebook Messenger (Free) by tapping the emoji icon, navigating to the sticker tab, and selecting the sticker the same way you would a regular emoji. Not all apps will display animated stickers, some will send them as static images, occasionally giving them a black background.

If you're like us, the appeal of being able to make your own emoji is strong! After all, a picture is worth a thousand words and you can now make your own emojis on iPhone from your photos. Now you know the easiest way to make personalized stickers and access it in the Stickers drawer in the Messages app or share them via other apps. Next, learn how to take the best Live custom photo stickers on iPhone.