Don’t just ‘Like’ on Facebook, express more with emojis

Facebook is reportedly planning to introduce a set of five new emojis called Reactions that’ll accompany the iconic ‘Like’ button

Facebook users will soon be presented with a set of five new emojis which include “love,” “haha,” “sad,” “angry” and “wow” alongside the default ‘Like’ button. (Facebook)

Facebook users will soon have more ways to respond besides the lone 'Like' button. Bloomberg reports that the company's chief product officer Chris Cox has confirmed that 'Reactions' buttons will soon be available to all Facebook users.

The social networking giant announced last year that its testing "Reactions", a set of five emojis that users can choose which include "love," "haha," "sad," "angry" and "wow." The move is essentially aimed at giving Facebook users more choices to express their feelings towards a particular post. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview last December that the company wants to give its users more ways to empathise. For instance, in case of tragedies such as earthquakes or terror attacks users generally don't feel comfortable to 'Like' that post. Hence, with the introduction of 'Reactions' users will have more ways to express their response.

"As you can see, it's not a 'dislike' button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun," Chris Cox, chief product officer at Facebook, wrote in a post.

Reactions was initially tested in Spain and Ireland last October. The feature works by long-press on mobiles which presents users with a set of emojis mentioned above. The report also adds that Facebook had earlier planned six emojis in total, though decided to axe the 'yay' button as "it was not universally understood."

Facebook hasn't given a specific timeline as to when 'Reactions' will be introduced to its users around the globe, though did mention it'll happen "in the next few weeks."