This iPhone Feature Turns Your Pet Into an Emoji
If you’ve ever wanted to send friends a smaller, playful version of your pet instead of a plain photo, your iPhone can already do it. With iOS 17, Apple introduced Live Stickers, a feature that pulls your pet out of any picture and saves it as a reusable, emoji-style sticker. Everything happens inside the Photos app, so you don’t need extra tools or editing skills.
Here’s the process: open a photo, press and hold on your pet until a white outline appears, then select Add Sticker. That cutout moves into your sticker drawer in the keyboard, where it’s ready to use. From there, you can drop it into texts, layer it on top of messages, or throw it into group chats. Apple also lets you add effects if you want, such as a white border that helps the sticker stand out.
Turning Photos Into Stickers
Inside the Photos app, choose the shot you want—maybe your cat mid-yawn or your dog leaning in for attention. Press and hold on the subject, and the phone traces it with a glow. That’s your cue to lift it out. Select Add Sticker, and the cutout lands in the keyboard for use right away.
From there, you have control. Stickers can be moved around, sorted, or tossed out if you don’t like them. Effects are optional, though a simple white border can help them stand apart. And because there’s no limit, a camera roll packed with pet photos can quickly turn into a full collection of personal stickers.
Where You Can Use Them
Image via Canva/Africa images
Live Stickers slot right into your emoji keyboard, which means you can use them in Apple’s Messages app without any extra steps. They can also work in other Apple apps, but you might run into some roadblocks in third-party platforms. For example, they didn’t show up in Slack or TikTok during testing. So while your iPhone lets you send your dog’s face as a sticker in iMessage, your pet may not leap every app you use.
The stickers behave just like emojis in Messages. You can place them in text bubbles, stick them on top of messages as a reaction, or mix them into your conversations. Because they’re stored in your keyboard, they’re always just a couple of taps away, which makes it dangerously easy to send your pet’s face 10 times in a row.
How It’s Different From Genmoji
Apple also has another feature called Genmoji, which comes with Apple Intelligence in newer iPhones. Genmoji lets you type out a description, like “dog wearing sunglasses,” and the AI creates a matching emoji for you. You can even make them based on people in your Photos app. The main difference is that Genmoji are AI-generated, while Live Stickers come directly from your actual photos. If you want accuracy, especially for your pet’s unique markings or expressions, Live Stickers are the way to go.
Enjoy This Fun Feature!
Image via Canva/beaveraphotos
On Reddit, people are already treating Live Stickers as more than a novelty. One user described turning a pet cat named Kiki into a sticker and using it as a stand-in for a heart emoji when texting his wife. Another admitted they have two kittens and plan to spam friends with stickers until it gets out of hand.
If these reactions are anything to go by, once you start turning your pet into stickers, your friends better be ready for a flood of paws, whiskers, fur, and ridiculous facial expressions in every chat.