Apple’s latest software updates, iOS 17 for the iPhone and macOS Sonoma for the Mac, introduced a fun new feature for FaceTime users: video reactions.
With the feature, users can trigger on-screen animations during a video call by making hand gestures. For example, if you make a heart shape with your fingers, you will see heart emoji floating around your face. Or if you give two thumbs up, you will see fireworks exploding in the background.
In regular video calls, the feature is a welcome addition. However, it can also backfire in some situations. For example, imagine you’re in the middle of a serious conversation with your therapist or lawyer, and you accidentally trigger an emoji reaction that is totally inappropriate for the mood. That could be very awkward for both parties.
That is exactly what happened with wholelottanothing‘s Matt Haughey, (via The Verge), who wrote on Mastodon, “A friend was in an online therapy session, describing his trauma so the therapist asked if he was alright and he did a thumbs up and then HUGE FIREWORKS BEHIND HIS HEAD.”
SimplePractice, a telehealth platform, now offers a warning prompt before video calls that says, “Apple devices may show emojis during video calls,” and that the feature is not a part of the company’s offerings and that it has no control over the settings. The telehealth platform has also shared information on how to disable the feature in its FAQ section.
If you want to turn the feature off on iOS 17, open the FaceTime app and swipe down from the top right corner. Tap on ‘Video Effects’ and disable ‘Reactions.’ On macOS Sonoma, open the FaceTime app, click on the FaceTime icon in the menu bar, and then click on “Reactions.” This will disable the gesture-based reactions for all your FaceTime calls.
Source: Matt Haughey Via: The Verge
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