Apple is slammed for ‘nuisance’ new animations triggered by hand gestures that have seen confetti, balloons and thumbs-down emojis appear on-screen during serious virtual meetings

• Apple’s default gesture-based reaction setting on its camera has caused many to be embarrassed during serious or business video calls
• But there is a simple way to shut the setting off and avoid awkward explanations 

Tech giant Apple is being widely criticized by users – particularly corporate employees – for its default gesture-based reaction setting on its camera. 

The reaction setting is activated when a hand gesture is made in the view of the camera and then a 3D effect fills the video frame for a few seconds. 

Possible reactions include balloons flying by, bursting confetti, a thumbs up and down, fireworks, floating hearts and lasers. 

While these reactions are meant to elicit a laugh and help people express their emotions, many have been embarrassed and are becoming increasingly frustrated when the reactions show up on screen unprompted during serious video calls. 

Alyssa Nolte, a 33-year-old consultant in Iowa, was on an office call when a client who was sharing news about coming layoffs raised her hands and suddenly their screen was filed with balloons. 

‘We’re all like, “What just happened? Oh my gosh,”‘ she told the Wall Street Journal. 

Dennis Perpetua, a 46-year-old digital workplace experience officer in New York,  also shared his experience on LinkedIn and noted that fortunately his bosses laughed too. 

Perpetua was on business call with his boss in Zurich, when suddenly a thumbs-down emoji bubbled up beside his head. 

He said: ‘We’re kind of having a fairly serious conversation around strategy… and it popped up. To be quite candid, I kind of snort-laughed, which probably wasn’t a great move. 

But luckily for him, his boss joined and started laughing too. 

Later on, he wrote on LinkedIn: ‘The FaceTime camera’s reactions on Macs with M1 chips can make for uncomfortable conversations with your boss! Regardless of how intently my eyes suggested I am listening, I underestimated my body language during the conversation. 

‘Now the only question is how did I manage to get Microsoft Copilot to capture this happy accident?’

Zach Holmquist, co-founder of AI startup Seer, explained that the reactions have caused a lot of chaos on calls with potential investors. 

‘We would be having a really serious conversation about finances and trajectories and all this stuff and you trigger confetti and balloons. 

‘I feel like balloons is the one I trigger all the time. It just gets really freaking awkward,’ Holmquist told the WSJ. 

But corporate employees aren’t the only ones to be embarrassed during calls. 

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman ended up releasing confetti when he made the symbol for air quotes on the screen while on a Zoom interview on MSNBC last month. 

He did not comment on the incident during the video and continued with the conversation.  

Jacquelyn Tenaglia, a 38-year-old mental-health counselor in Boston, also had a similar experience.  

During a virtual appointment, Tenaglia was resting her chin on the back of her hand when suddenly a thumbs-down bubble popped over her head. 

She had to quickly apologize and say: ‘It was embarrassing to have that conversation. I think of myself as someone with a great sense of humor, but I can say confidently that this has only been a nuisance.’

But it is incredibly simple to turn this setting off. 

According to Apple, while on video call on a Mac system or an iPhone, users need to select the Reactions option in the Video menu and select off. 

For the gesture-based reaction setting to work, a user should have a macOS Sonoma or later on a Mac with Apple silicon or macOS Sonoma or later on a Mac using Continuity Camera with iPhone 12 or later.