Phone & Tablet

Beginner

4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

How to Send iMessage Bubble and Screen Effects

Spice up your iPhone text messages with fireworks, confetti, balloons, invisible ink, and more — here's what each effect does and how to send them.

At a Glance

Type your message first

~16s

Open the Messages app and go to the conversation where you want to send the effect. Type your message in the text field at the bottom as you normally would. Don't tap the blue send button yet — that would send it as a plain message.

Open the effects menu

~23s

After you've typed your message, press and hold the blue send button (the upward arrow). Don't tap it quickly — press and hold for about one second until the effects screen opens. You'll see your message at the top and two tabs below: "Bubble" and "Screen."

Quick Tip

If you accidentally send the message before accessing effects, you can't add an effect to an already-sent message. You'd need to send a new message.

Choose a Bubble effect

~21s

Tap the "Bubble" tab. You'll see four options: Slam, Loud, Gentle, and Invisible Ink. Tap each one to preview how it looks — your message will animate in the preview at the top of the screen. When you find one you like, tap the blue send arrow in the top right corner of the preview area to send the message with that effect.

Choose a Screen effect

~24s

Tap the "Screen" tab. Swipe left and right through the screen effect options: Balloons, Confetti, Fireworks, Shooting Star, Celebration, Lasers, Love, and Echo. Each one will automatically preview in full-screen so you can see what it looks like. When you find the effect you want, tap the blue send button at the top right.

Quick Tip

Balloons are perfect for birthdays, Fireworks for New Year's or celebrations, and Love for anniversaries or Valentine's Day.

Replay an effect you received

~19s

When you receive a message with a screen effect, it plays automatically as soon as the message arrives. If you want to see it again, tap and hold the message bubble briefly — you may see a "Replay" option appear, or you can tap the word "Replay" that sometimes appears below the animation after it plays.

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When you send a text message to another iPhone user through iMessage (the blue bubble messages), you can add special visual effects to your messages. These effects are a fun way to celebrate birthdays, show excitement, or add a personal touch to your messages.

There are two types of effects:

Bubble effects

change how your message bubble itself looks or moves when it appears on screen: - Slam — the message crashes onto the screen with impact - Loud — the message comes in big and bold, then shrinks to normal size - Gentle — the message floats in softly and slowly - Invisible Ink — the message appears blurred out until the recipient swipes across it to reveal it (great for a surprise or a secret)

Screen effects

fill the entire screen of both your phone and the recipient's phone with an animation: - Balloons — colorful balloons float up the screen - Confetti — a colorful burst of confetti covers the screen - Fireworks — a fireworks display lights up the screen - Shooting Star — a star streaks across a dark sky - Celebration — sparkling streamers and lights - Lasers — laser beams shoot across the screen - Love — red hearts float across the screen - Echo — your message flies across the screen multiple times

Effects only work when both the sender and recipient are using iPhones with iMessage (blue bubbles). They don't work with regular SMS text messages (green bubbles) or with Android users.

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Official Resources

Apple Support — iPhone Google Help — Android Samsung Support

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