<figure><img src="https://i.insider.com/6aee492580d4b24f18347229?format=jpeg" height="4912" width="7360" alt="emoji reactions"><figcaption>I love emoji reactions. Just not on my headphones.<p class="copyright">Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images</p></figcaption></figure><ul class="summary-list"><li>Your iPhone reads out whenever someone uses an emoji reaction to a text when you're wearing AirPods.</li><li>I like emoji reactions — but I don't want to HEAR about them!</li><li>This is, I'm pretty certain, the most urgent and pressing tech issue of the moment.</li></ul><p>Apple has been committing a grave injustice against us for years, and it's time someone speaks up and voices what the people have felt powerless to say. That brave person is me.</p><p>The problem is that <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-imessage-like-a-pro-2016-1">iMessage</a> reactions — such as someone liking a text with the thumbs-up emoji — keep playing in my AirPods. There should be a way to turn this off.</p><p>Here's the problem. If you get <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-to-allow-iphone-text-scheduling-ios-software-update-2024-6">an iMessage</a> while wearing your headphones, your phone will announce it: "From [name]: message here." That's really useful and helpful! I find this feature fantastic.</p><p>However, when I'm wearing my AirPods, I'm typically not looking at my phone — I'm walking around, listening to a podcast while doing dishes or at the gym. These are all times I want to know if I got a new text — maybe I'm at the grocery store and my husband texts me to say we need more eggs. Great! Let those notifications rip! I love it!!!</p><p>But you know what I do NOT need to know? If someone reacted with the heart emoji to a message in a group chat.</p><figure><img src="https://i.insider.com/6aee48f9eaa5e46dca227d4b?format=jpeg" height="417" width="937" alt="text with thumbs up"><figcaption>The useful thumbs-up emoji is great, but I don't want to hear about it while I'm taking a walk!<p class="copyright">Business Insider</p></figcaption></figure><p>Reactions in iMessage are great. They're highly efficient: sometimes you just want to give a thumbs-up to let someone know you acknowledged the message, or a heart to show you appreciate a baby photo or what have you. Apple, I salute you: this was a great feature. You really cooked with this one.</p><p>However, there is no way to turn off notifications for just those reactions — you can turn off announcements of <em>all</em> messages in your headphones, but then it means you won't hear the "hey can you also pick up eggs" text.</p><p>You can also select "time sensitive and direct messages" only (which is my current setting), but for me, those pesky emoji reactions persist.</p><figure><img src="https://i.insider.com/6af0858f8f37e8e0b5bab1c0?format=jpeg" height="1942" width="1290" alt="notification announcemns"><figcaption>In Settings > Notifications > Messages, you can reduce the announcements.<p class="copyright">Business Insider</p></figcaption></figure><p>The emoji announcement problem in AirPods is similar to another issue that long plagued iMessage: if someone isn't on an iPhone, the reactions would come in as separate messages altogether. One Android in the group and a green text bubble meant full-on chaos in the chat.</p><p>I have a very active group chat with a bunch of friends who are big-time emoji reaction users, but one friend is on Android, which means it's a green bubble chat. For years, this meant that the emoji reactions were a nightmare for her — so much that she muted the group and would only rarely check in. Thankfully, in 2024, Apple <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rcs-iphone-ios-18-keeps-green-text-bubbles-android-2024-6">mostly fixed this problem </a>by embracing a texting protocol called Rich Communications Services. The result? Green texts could use emoji reactions normally now. See? Progress can happen!</p><p><a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-q4-earnings-china-ipad-sales-miss-2026-11">John Ternus, if you want to really make a splash as Apple CEO</a>, I have a suggestion for you: fix this. Make a toggle switch in the Notifications settings of the Messages app so you can turn off just emoji reaction announcements.</p><div class="read-original">Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-airpods-siri-emoji-reation-notifications-imessage-2026-11">Business Insider</a></div>
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