iOS 17.4 Allows Video Calling Apps to Turn Off Hand Gesture Reactions to Prevent Awkward Moments

[antiprotest]

Not to disagree with your last statement, phones didn't always have a way of silencing the ringer, or did I miss something?)

Phones, I don't think, started out silent.

Again, the analogy would stand only if the phone started out silent, then mandatory ringing, then option to turn off the ringing to make it silent again.

(And IF phones started out silent and ringing was introduced later, they should have definitely introduced the option to turn off the ringing at the same time the ringing was added. Remember when we had to unplug the thing.)

I think my point is just that Apple should have the foresight to make potentially disruptive features optional at launch.

 

[ninecows]

I would think giving two thumbs up or double peace signs to the camera would be more embarrassing in those situations than the actual effects being triggered unexpectedly.

One would think so. But it always triggers when I want to count like a number of very important reasons why we should do (whatever). I get to one (gesturing 👍🏻 or 👆🏻) and balloons are all over the place.

Took me weeks to figure out how to turn it off.

 

[ninecows]

And no. I cannot even trigger half of them intentionally if you cared to ask, Apple.

 

[antiprotest]

One would think so. But it always triggers when I want to count like a number of very important reasons why we should do (whatever). I get to one (gesturing 👍🏻 or 👆🏻) and balloons are all over the place.

Took me weeks to figure out how to turn it off.

The first reason we should do this is...

And the second reason we should....

WEEEEEEE! 🥳

 

[GaryGnu]

They apparently forgot the line 'why so serious?'

Because that activate Siri...

 

[ninecows]

Plus… it will mistake 👆🏻 for 👍🏻… and 👍🏻 for ✌🏻…etc. A bit randomly.

But doing ✌🏻✌🏻 never works

Happy that I found the turn off button

 

[EmotionalSnow]

I think this should be a system toggle because every app is immediately going to turn them off. They're really not that easy to trigger.

What if I want them in Facetime but not Zoom?

 

[SidricTheViking]

I might be one of the very few who really enjoy these gestures. I use them in Webex and FaceTime (for personal and work meetings). They always surprise the others in the meetings.
As someone who uses trimojis (😄🤣🙃 😎🇮🇪☘️) and the iMessage effects very often I like these new additions to my weekly interactions. Perhaps, when I turn 65 next week, I’ll grow up and stop behaving like an adolescent!

 

[kklaus]

So apparently I gave myself a thumbs down on the livestream during my sermon this past Sunday. 😂🙈 (true story)

 

[alexandr]

Phones, I don't think, started out silent.

Again, the analogy would stand only if the phone started out silent, then mandatory ringing, then option to turn off the ringing to make it silent again.

(And IF phones started out silent and ringing was introduced later, they should have definitely introduced the option to turn off the ringing at the same time the ringing was added. Remember when we had to unplug the thing.)

I think my point is just that Apple should have the foresight to make potentially disruptive features optional at launch.

Ahahaha) Well... considering these "reactions" aren't its own new device or service — we could compare the phone to other ways of communicating, such as sending letters or yelling across the street when speaking to your neighbor ))

 

[jayducharme]

LOL! I discovered this by accident the other day when I was on in Zoom conference. I gave two thumbs up to someone's comment and was immediately surrounded by fireworks. It was completely unexpected, and at the same time an impressive technical trick.

 

[1129846]

It should never of been something that should of been turned on in the first place. Default should be off.
This was a piss poor feature and an example of WHAT NOT to do. The fact that Apple is not turning them off by default is bad. It should be something that is optional to turn on. Sadly Apple has failed that.

The fact that it is taking an OS update to fix this also speaks volumes of how badly it was implemented. This is something Apple should of put behind a feature flag and just shut it down remotely.

 

[User 6502]

if someone is triggered or embarrassed by something so silly like confetti on a screen they really DO need that therapy session… jeez people just chill and have a laugh. If it happened to me I’d just smile and apologise, and my colleagues or customers would probably just laugh about it and I’d be glad I made them smile even just for a second.

 

[adrianlondon]

I didn't even know this feature existed.

Tried it out. Turns out it doesn't exist. (I have an iPhone 11.)

 

[carrrrrlos]

If you put your hands together in a praying motion, a random song from Songs of Innocence starts playing.

 

[1129846]

if someone is triggered or embarrassed by something so silly like confetti on a screen they really DO need that therapy session… jeez people just chill and have a laugh. If it happened to me I’d just smile and apologise, and my colleagues or customers would probably just laugh about it and I’d be glad I made them smile even just for a second.

Tell me you do not regularly in professional meeting with telling me you are not in professional meetings.

Being trigger no. But the simple fact that it should NEVER of been something that overroad video Apps. I dont give a crap it if it was facetime. That is Apple's call. It is the fact that it started screwing with other companies video software that is a massive issue. It should be a feature they can tie into. Not one they have to disable.

 

[Antoniosmalakia]

I’m all for a bit of fun but turning things on or indeed off without my permission really gets on my nerves.

Contrary to belief, Tim Cook doesn’t always know what’s best.

 

[jimbobb24]

Didn’t even know this existed. Sounds awesome.

 

[jimbobb24]

Plus… it will mistake 👆🏻 for 👍🏻… and 👍🏻 for ✌🏻…etc. A bit randomly.

But doing ✌🏻✌🏻 never works

Happy that I found the turn off button

I got all of them but rock on to work ....just tried it because totally missed this feature. Its fun but I can understand people might not want it on.

 

[Fraserpatty]

I might be one of the very few who really enjoy these gestures. I use them in Webex and FaceTime (for personal and work meetings). They always surprise the others in the meetings.
As someone who uses trimojis (😄🤣🙃 😎🇮🇪☘️) and the iMessage effects very often I like these new additions to my weekly interactions. Perhaps, when I turn 65 next week, I’ll grow up and stop behaving like an adolescent!

No, I like them too and so do my kids. We just find them hard to trigger.

 

[niho]

Can somebody link to source? Which API call the app needs to make?

 

[wikiverse]

one of the Top 10 stupidest features of all time, why would this ever be on by default

The same reason that Apple puts the 'record voice message' button into iMessage by default, even when you've got dictation turned off. It also has a bug that means you don't need to press and hold to record a message, which means people are accidentally recording entire private conversations and sending them to people when the button is accidentally brushed before the screen is locked.

The only way to remove it is to turn on dictation - which has the same problem but sends a text message of your entire conversation to someone.

If you've turned off dictation, the default assumption should be that the user does not want to interact with iMessage using their voice, not that they want to record voice messages instead.

I don't know at what point Apple became dumb, but a LOT of stupid stuff like this has made it into Apple products over the last few years. Seems a lot like they're letting engineers/designers show off their cool engineering/design instead of actually creating a good user experience.

 

[MacFan23]

Apple has a pattern of introducing new features touting them as improvements, only to have to introduce new toggles to turn off those new features, and touting those toggles as improvements.

Do they?

The only other time I can remember them doing something like this is the toggle to turn off their battery optimisation. When else have they done this?

 

[Westside guy]

Wow, I didn't know about this stupidity at all. Thank you for providing instructions to turn this off right now!

 

[GrayFlannel]

Fortunately, Apple has come up with a solution.

When reached for comment, a legal correspondent with CNN, said it’s a welcomed change but the timing is a little late.