Stickers

To find stickers for a Story, capture or upload a photo or video, then tap the smiley sticker icon in the top toolbar.5 Instagram’s July 2026 guide lists categories including music, GIFs, location and mentions.5 The same guide identifies Add Yours, Cutouts and Effects among the tray’s newer additions.5

A Meta patent describes matching words in a message or search to descriptive labels attached to stickers, then ordering suggestions partly by how often the stickers have been used.13 Other Meta patents propose interpreting what someone intends to say and considering information such as their profile, location, calendar and outside events.1112 Those Meta patents also describe emphasizing relevant words or symbols and adjusting suggestions according to promotions and which stickers a person already owns.1112

Instagram has released expressive phrase stickers and seasonal packs, including autumn designs for the northern hemisphere and spring designs for the southern hemisphere.1516 Regional and cultural examples include Canada Day artwork available in English and French and a Latinx Heritage Month pack designed by a Chinese Latina creator from Panama City.1718 For the day-of-the-week sticker, select the sticker for that day and tap it again to see alternative styles.7 To remove an unwanted sticker while editing a Story, Mosseri said to drag it to the bottom of the screen.19

Instagram’s photo sticker lets you add multiple photographs to one Story, whereas Frames places one selected image inside a frame.1420 To use Frames, choose it from the sticker tray and select a gallery image; you may add a caption, and the sticker automatically includes the date and time the photo was taken.20 After publication, viewers can shake their phones or tap the “shake to reveal” button to uncover the picture.20

For question stickers, Mosseri’s June 2026 guidance adds that creators can answer submitted questions in later Stories.4 He also explained that allowing replies from people who do not follow you lets those viewers send a direct message through the Story’s reply button.4 Instagram’s emoji slider lets you ask more nuanced questions, with the selected emoji helping communicate the question’s emotional tone.21 To set one up, select the slider from the tray, place it, write the question and choose an emoji that matches its mood.21

Add Yours lets someone start a public Story thread with a custom prompt, see who responds and let viewers contribute by tapping the sticker on another person’s Story.8 Creating an Add Yours template goes further than submitting a response: select “Add Yours Templates” in the tray and add GIFs, text or images that become part of the template for others.8 Instagram also offers a dice button for template inspiration.8 A dated example of coordinated participation was Thank You Hour in April 2020, which Mosseri described as a week-long campaign bringing people’s messages of gratitude together each day at seven.22

To create a Cutout, open the sticker tools, tap the scissors icon labeled “Cutouts” and choose a camera-roll photo or video with a clear subject.6 Meta’s Newsroom says a sticker is generated automatically, with manual subject selection available if the result is not what you wanted.6 Customizable AI stickers are a distinct option that Mosseri has described for DMs and Stories, and Instagram also identifies them as a way to make something new for a conversation.223

Meta’s Newsroom says created Cutouts remain accessible in the sticker tray and that creators can let other people save and reuse them in their own Stories and Reels.6 For chat favorites, Instagram instructs people to press and hold a sticker, then select “Favorite” at the bottom of the screen to place it at the top of the tray.2 Meta’s Newsroom says this reuse option includes stickers received from friends as well as stickers made with Cutouts.24

In its April 2020 business-support announcement, Instagram said gift-card and food-order stickers took viewers to a partner’s website to purchase, while fundraiser stickers opened a personal fundraiser on Facebook.3 The announcement initially made gift cards and food orders available in the United States and Canada, with wider availability planned and fundraisers described as coming soon.3 Music stickers serve a different purpose: viewers hear the song and see its title and artist name.26 Mosseri named Subscribe and Notify stickers in April 2024 as ways to involve followers.9