Facebook Stickers in Messages and Chat

Facebook stickers are small, colorful images that convey emotion or character or thoughts in messages that people send to one another on the social network.

Using Facebook Stickers in Messages and Chat

Stickers work on the network's mobile apps—both the regular Facebook mobile app and its mobile Messenger, too—as well as on the desktop version of the social network. The stickers are only available in the chat and messaging area of Facebook, not in status updates or comments.

Why Do People Send Stickers?

People send stickers mostly for the same reason they send photos and use emoticons in chat—imagery is a powerful communication tool, especially for conveying our feelings. We often respond to visual stimuli differently than we do to text and verbal stimuli, and the whole idea behind stickers is to convey or provoke emotion through a visual stimulus.

Japanese messaging services popularized using little pictures as a way to communicate while chatting through the use of emoji images. Stickers are similar to emoji.

How Do You Send a Sticker on Facebook?

Start in the Messages area on your Facebook page.

Click New Message to open a message window then enter the name of a friend. Click the small, grayed-out a happy face in the upper right side of the blank message box. Pick a sticker from that list.

One group of stickers or small pictures is shown by default, but you have access to more. Click the slider on the right to scroll down and see all the pictures available in the default sticker group.

You'll have access to several other groupings of stickers in the menu above the stickers. Switch between the groups or packs of stickers using the small menu buttons at top left. By default, everyone has several sticker packs available in their main sticker menu, but you can add others.

To see what's available and add more, visit the Facebook sticker store. Click the sticker store icon if you'd like to see more free sticker options.