Do you want to noticeably spice up your video calls?In fact, simple hand gestures can work wonders: 3D effects such as thumbs up or down, hearts, fireworks, laser beams, balloons, confetti, and so on appear on the FaceTime video call screen on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
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Compatible devices
You can influence a FaceTime video call with gestures if you have one of these devices:
- iPhone 12 or later running iOS 17 (or later).
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation or later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation or later), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (4th generation or later), or iPad mini ( 6th generation) on iPadOS 17 (or later).
- Apple-based MacBook or iMac (M1, M2, etc.) running macOS Sonoma (or later) with a working built-in webcam.
- iPhone 12 or later as Continuity Camera on any Apple Silicon Mac (such as Mac mini or Mac Studio) running macOS Sonoma (or later).
- Apple TV 4K with tvOS 17 (or later) when using iPhone as a Continuity camera.
Note.FaceTime hand gesture effects are visible even if the other person doesn’t have any of the aforementioned compatible devices or is running an older operating system such as iOS 16 or macOS Ventura.
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All available hand gesture effects for FaceTime video call
You can use the following hand gestures to add fun and expressive 3D effects to your FaceTime video call:
- Like (like): One thumbs up.
- Dislike (dislike): One thumb down.
- Fireworks: Two fingers up.
- Rain: Two fingers down.
- Air balloons: Use two fingers to make a peace sign (letter V).
- Confetti: Make two peace signs with both hands (two Vs).
- heart: With both hands, shape your fingers into a heart shape.
- Laser show: Make a rock and roll sign with both hands.
If you need help understanding gestures, then here is a picture showing how to make all these signs.
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How do I respond with my hands to a FaceTime call?
- Make or receive a FaceTime video call on a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14 or later.
- Now make the above gestures with your hands, and when you place your hands or fingers correctly, FaceTime will automatically add animation effects to the screen in real time.It can be thumbs up or down, hearts, fireworks, confetti, laser, downpour, etc. The effect will be visible to the recipient of this call.You will also see what is happening inside a small window with a view from the front camera.
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Add reactions to FaceTime calls without using hand gestures
Let’s say you’re having a FaceTime conversation with your office colleagues.In this case, it may not be very appropriate to actively gesticulate in front of the camera.Then you can use the special reactions option to add an effect to the current video call.However, for now, this feature is only available on Mac, not iPad or iPhone.
Here’s how you can add extra visuals to FaceTime calls without using hand gestures:
1. Make a FaceTime video call on a Mac running macOS Sonoma or later.
2. Click the green FaceTime icon in the top menu bar.
3. Click on the small arrow next to “Reactions”.
4. Select the heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, balloon, rain, confetti, laser or fireworks icon to add this effect to your FaceTime call.
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What should I do if hand gestures don’t work during a FaceTime call?
Check the basic requirements
Check out the compatibility list above and make sure you own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac that supports this feature.Also, update to the latest version available if your devices are running an older version of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS Sonoma.
Reboot your device
Some little things may not work or work slowly if you have not restarted your phone or computer for a long time.So, turn off and on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Provide the right lighting
Make sure the area around you is well lit for FaceTime hand gestures to work.
Position yourself correctly in the frame
Look at the tiny video thumbnail that shows the front camera image.Make sure that you are displayed correctly in it, and that the gestures you make are also visible inside this field.
Re-position yourself in the frame and wait a while
A small change in your position can also help in this situation, for example, you can move away from the front camera or move closer, and then try again to make gestures with your hands.
Second, wait a couple of seconds for the gesture to be recognized.When the effect is added, the window with the image of the front camera will move out slightly and become larger.
This feature only works with the front camera.
You can add FaceTime effects to hand gestures when using only the front camera on an iPhone or iPad, not the rear camera.
But the Mac only has one camera, the front webcam, so you don’t have to worry about it.
Make sure you are the only person in the frame
As an experiment, you can ask someone else to enter the frame, putting their hands on the head or shoulders of the caller.But even then, the FaceTime reaction to the gestures of the main interlocutor will work.True, no one can guarantee such behavior.So if there are other people in the frame and views of their hands, then it is better to leave one person in the camera’s field of view to create these visual effects.
Do you wear a shirt that matches the color of your skin, or do you have the same background?
In rare cases, the color of your clothing or background can make your hands indistinguishable.As a result, FaceTime will not be able to clearly recognize hand gestures.Be sure to check this point for the effects to work.
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How to turn off FaceTime reaction to gestures during a video call?
You can turn off the FaceTime reaction to gestures if you don’t want to use the associated video effects.This can be useful if you often use your hand gestures to reinforce your thoughts during a video call and don’t want random effects on the call because of this.
On iPhone and iPad
1. During a FaceTime call, open “Command centre“.
2. Click on “effects“.
3. Press the white button “Reactions‘ to turn them off.
On Mac
1. Click the FaceTime button on the top menu bar.
2. Click on the “Reactions”, and its icon will change from green to black and white, indicating that the function is disabled.
Important: Disabling reactions only applies to you.The other person in the FaceTime call will still be able to respond with gestures, and you will still see this effect.
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