Delete a sticker from your keyboard or recent stickers

The fastest way to remove a sticker is to long-press it in your keyboard or in the recent stickers section, then tap the trash icon. This works whether the sticker is one you created yourself or one that came with your phone.

Open any app where you can type or send messages — Messages, Mail, Notes, or any text field works. Tap the emoji button (the smiley face icon on your keyboard). Swipe left to find the stickers tab, which shows a star icon. Long-press the sticker you want to remove. A trash icon will appear above it. Tap the trash icon, then confirm by tapping "Remove" when the popup asks.

If you recently used the sticker, it may also appear in the recents section at the top of the stickers menu. Long-press it there and tap the trash icon the same way.

Key Takeaways

  • Long-pressing any sticker in your keyboard or recents section reveals a trash icon you can tap to remove it.
  • Removing a sticker from your keyboard does not delete it from the app it came from — it only hides it from your recent list.
  • To stop seeing stickers from a specific app entirely, you can remove that app's sticker pack from your keyboard settings.
  • Stickers you created yourself can be deleted the same way as any other sticker.

Remove an entire sticker pack from your keyboard

If you want to stop seeing all stickers from one app or creator, you can remove the whole pack instead of deleting stickers one at a time. This is faster if you have many stickers you do not use.

Go to Settings on your iPhone. Tap General, then Keyboard. Scroll down and tap Stickers. You will see a list of all the sticker packs installed on your phone, organized by the app or creator that made them. Find the pack you want to remove and tap the minus sign next to it. Tap "Remove" to confirm. The entire pack disappears from your keyboard, though the app itself stays on your phone.

Understand what happens when you delete a sticker

Deleting a sticker from your keyboard only removes it from your recent list and hides it from view. It does not erase the sticker from the app that created it. If you reinstall the app or reset your keyboard settings, the sticker pack comes back.

When you remove a sticker pack from your keyboard settings, the same thing happens — the pack is hidden from your keyboard, but the app that made it still has the stickers stored inside. You can add the pack back to your keyboard anytime by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers and tapping the plus sign next to the pack name.

Add stickers back to your keyboard

If you removed a sticker or sticker pack and change your mind, you can bring it back without reinstalling anything. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers. Look for the pack you removed — it will show a plus sign next to it instead of a minus sign. Tap the plus sign to add it back to your keyboard.

You can also add stickers back by opening the app that created them. Many apps have a sticker management section in their settings where you can turn packs on or off. Check the app's settings menu if you want to manage stickers directly from there instead of going through your phone settings.

Delete stickers you created yourself

If you made custom stickers using an app like Memoji or a third-party sticker creator, you can remove them the same way you remove any other sticker. Long-press the sticker in your keyboard and tap the trash icon, or remove the entire pack from Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers.

Some sticker-creation apps also let you delete stickers from inside the app itself. Open the app, find your sticker library or gallery, and look for a delete or remove option. Check the app's menu or settings to see if this option is available. Deleting from inside the app and deleting from your keyboard both achieve the same result — the sticker stops showing up when you try to use it.

Troubleshoot stickers that will not delete

If you long-press a sticker and the trash icon does not appear, the sticker may be locked or built into your phone's system. Some stickers that come with iOS cannot be removed. Try restarting your iPhone — sometimes the keyboard needs to refresh before the delete option shows up.

If restarting does not work, try removing the sticker pack from Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers instead of deleting individual stickers. If that option is also grayed out or missing, the pack is part of your phone's base system and cannot be removed. You can still hide it by not using it, but iOS will not let you delete it completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting a sticker from my keyboard delete it from the app that made it?

No. Deleting a sticker only removes it from your keyboard and recent stickers list. The sticker pack stays in the app, and you can add it back to your keyboard anytime. The app itself is not affected.

Can I delete stickers that came with my iPhone?

Some built-in stickers cannot be deleted, but you can remove them from your keyboard by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers and tapping the minus sign. If the minus sign is grayed out, that pack is locked by iOS and cannot be removed.

What if I accidentally deleted a sticker pack and want it back?

Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Stickers and look for the pack with a plus sign next to it. Tap the plus sign to add it back. You can also open the app that created the stickers and enable the pack from there.

Why does the trash icon not appear when I long-press a sticker?

The sticker may be part of a locked system pack that iOS does not allow you to delete. Try restarting your iPhone first. If the trash icon still does not appear, remove the entire pack from your keyboard settings instead.