Why the default "thumb up" emoji in my iPhone is white?

The old behavior when pressing the thumbs up (yellow) tapback to reply to a message was to add a yellow thumbs up to the message on Sender device and on Receiver device. Same for the thumbs down, except it is orange-yellow. When I updated my iPhone recently this behavior changed, the tapback list is the same, yellow or orange-yellow for the thumb icons, but when you add thumbs up or thumbs down, the Sender device NOW shows a white handed thumb. However, if you are viewing the Receiver device, the thumbs up is yellow and the thumb down is orange-yellow. I believe the color update is related to the fact that a Sender's version is now white. Nothing to do with skin color, etc., probably to try to clarify "your" tapbacks.

I presumed it was an emoji of some sort. It's not.

As user 130lbsrock noted above, it's a Tapback icon.

It seems that the new thing is the white gloved hand as the second choice as opposed to a regular thumb-up sign, and there is no way that I know of how to edit this list.

The user appears to have no control over the Tapback icon.

anonymous270 wrote:

It's simple. For the first text message, when you tapbacked, you used the "Thumbs Up" preset, which is a white thumbs up. However, for the second message you used the actual emoji to tapback instead of the preset.

Katana-San wrote:

Hello~ Good work!!

~Katana-San~

The behavior of the preset changed. It used to yellow for the Sender, now it is white. That is my experience.

anonymous270 wrote:

It's simple. For the first text message, when you tapbacked, you used the "Thumbs Up" preset, which is a white thumbs up. However, for the second message you used the actual emoji to tapback instead of the preset.

Hello~ Good work!!

~Katana-San~

It's simple. For the first text message, when you tapbacked, you used the "Thumbs Up" preset, which is a white thumbs up. However, for the second message you used the actual emoji to tapback instead of the preset.

130lbsrock wrote:

Tapback has been around for a while. It seems that the new thing is the white gloved hand as the second choice as opposed to a regular thumb-up sign, and there is no way that I know of how to edit this list. BTW, i did write to Apple to complain but I am not sure if my question will be understood.

Yup, I'e been using Tapback since they introduced it. It's wonderful when I can't figure out how else to get out of a conversation.

Did you use the feedback page?

Product Feedback - Apple

I suspect they will understand, possibly better than we did.

I guess I couldn't tell from your screenshot you knew how to change it. It still comes up yellow as the standard on my iPhone. Why it doesn't on your iPhone, I don't know.

Sometimes a simple Forced Restart can fix odd little things. Have you Forced Restarted your phone --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

Hello~ It shows as white by default and when I hold the option it will allow me to change it so the Tapback is yellow when sent. You can offer your opinion by clicking on below…

Product Feedback - Apple

~Katana-San~

Hello~ Let Apple know using the link I provided for you above… they do not monitor here in the way you may think.

~Katana-San~

I agree with everyone’s consensus. You should reach out to Apple to discuss this. I don’t think it is meant to imply skin tone just like the yellow thumbs up wasnt meant to imply skin tone. Nobody has skin that white or that yellow.

Interesting. I tried looking up Tapback first, and all searches "corrected" me to Back Tap, as if the first didn't exist.

Edit: There, finally found how to apply one of those. When you first choose the thumbs up as a tapback, it shows the "Simpsons" yellow skin with no other color options. But when it drops the tapback onto the message, it changes to white.

Kurt Lang wrote:

Interesting. I tried looking up Tapback first, and all searches "corrected" me to Back Tap, as if the first didn't exist.

I think I did my usual kind of search: site:apple.com iPhone tapback

Edit: There, finally found how to apply one of those. When you first choose the thumbs up as a tapback, it shows the "Simpsons" yellow skin with no other color options. But when it drops the tapback onto the message, it changes to white.

I use them all the time but never paid attention to the colors.