how do i disable reactions?

From the linked article:

To turn this feature on or off, select Reactions in the Video menu which appears in the menu bar when a video call is in progress.

tt2

I was getting the same elgato-related crashes. Not sure about others, but reactions was not even an option in the Facetime > Video menu for me. I found a YouTube video that shows this more clearly: it's the display manager in the menu bar where you can disable reactions, which was not at all obvious to me but this did solve my issue.

@margueritav I believe you have to disable it separately it in every app that uses video. If you disable it in Google Meet it will still happen in Zoom. So you have to disable it in the app you're using to record video.

Unfortunately, if the forums indicate there's no way to permanently disable the balloons feature, it may not be possible currently. I suggest contacting the platform's customer support to express your concerns and request this feature. Providing feedback might encourage the company to make the necessary changes.

As above use Product Feedback - Apple to raise this issue.

tt2

I would have assumed that turning off the reactions once would have been a sticky option that affected other applications using Apple's frameworks. I don't have any personal experience with these tools to draw on, but it would seem feedback to Apple may be in order. Use Product Feedback - Apple.

tt2

I am in the same boat as a telehealth healthcare provider. I do not understand how Apple overlooked this for their many professional users - does anyone know if there's a way to change it to opt-in instead of individually opting out?

Needs universal way to turn this off, and should be opt-in at that.

This feature crashes my external (elgato) webcam in every app. If switch to my elgato camera in zoom, browsers (each one is handled independently), etc -- an accidental reaction will immediately freeze the camera. I had this happen when I was trying to make a podcast recording with a guest! I was using a new browser and forgot to disable it in the new browser.

It's turned on for every location independently (each app) until you remember to turn it off. Absolutely beyond annoying, especially in professional settings, and even more so since it is crashing cameras too. Please make this opt-in only.

I am a telehealth provider. Today, balloons went up while a patient was talking about a tragic situation. First, it was inappropriate, insensitive and distracting. Second, it led the client to wonder if the telehealth platform is actually HIPPA compliant. There needs to be a way to turn this feature off permanently. Turning it off every time if you see 5-10 clients a day is not practical. Is there any way to do that? So far the forums seem to be saying no.

That’s not the issue I was talking about with elgato. Requesting a UNIVERSAL shut off here. As mentioned in my comment “It's turned on for every location independently (each app) until you remember to turn it off.” So turning it off isn’t the issue, I have always been using what is shown in the video. It’s that you have to do that for every single app. Do a therapy session in Firefox and usually use Chrome. Boom. Streamlabs desktop for your first livestream? Boom.

I had this happen to me recently, and neither my client nor I (both on macbook airs) realised it was an apple thing. I'm going to see if I can figure out how to turn off reactions, and will tell my client as well, but a UNIVERSAL shut off and opt-in only feature should completely be installed. This is a ridiculous default feature to have on any device.

concerned-apple wrote:

I had this happen to me recently, and neither my client nor I (both on macbook airs) realised it was an apple thing. I'm going to see if I can figure out how to turn off reactions, and will tell my client as well, but a UNIVERSAL shut off and opt-in only feature should completely be installed. This is a ridiculous default feature to have on any device.

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

I'm completely on edge on conference calls because I seem to set off the 🫧 🫧 unexpectedly (and I guess I count with my thumb? I'd never noticed this before, but I keep setting off a shower of bubbles with my "first of all" gesture.)

The idea that anyone would assume that adult humans actually want random cutesy gestures to start appearing in their video calls without warning is just bonkers.

Amazon failed my certification exam because of "video manipulation" when balloons when flying during my exam. Apple, you guys just cost me $300 dollars because of your Facetime reactions that are for some reason enabled by default. On top of that, I come here to see medical professionals that are in a much more sensitive situation having this going off while meeting with patients.

Here we are September 2024 and you still havent not fixed this. You should be ashamed. I submitted product feedback but its going to take a long time to forgive and forget for this nonsense that nobody ever asked for.

I've done that and the reactions still continue when I'm recording video. So frustrating!