Continuing in the tradition of changing Reactions to suit a theme or holiday, Facebook today has begun rolling out a Halloween version of the six Reaction buttons. Replacing Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry are a skeleton's hand, candy heart, witch, ghost, Frankenstein's monster, and a pumpkin.

facebook-halloween

Some Reactions, including Like, change into their festive versions after being tapped

Using its acquisition of MSQRD, Facebook is also introducing Halloween-themed live filter masks into its live video streaming feature. The limited-time masks are said to include a skull, an evil queen, a pumpkin, and a witch.

After you start broadcasting from the "Live" button on top of the feed in the Facebook app, you can find the masks in the magic wand menu in the top left corner of the screen. The company said that a selection of masks will continue to be available after Halloween, "so you can be creative in your Live videos any time."

facebook-halloween-2
The update is expected to stick around through Halloween, although Facebook didn't specifically confirm how long it would last. Reactions will be rolling out to people "in a select set of countries," while masks are available only to iOS users in the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

Top Rated Comments

rockarollr Avatar
118 months ago
Who gives a damn? How about they get their priorities straight and fix their app so it looks right on the 12.9" iPad Pro? You would think that might be just a bit more important.

Way to prioritize and delegate your resources properly there, Zuckerberg! o_O
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zorn Avatar
118 months ago
Wow! How super kewl and useful! Meanwhile in the real world, the Facebook app still looks like sloppy mud on the iPad Pro one year later. Glad they have their priorities straight.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9052042 Avatar
118 months ago
What kills me is that as I understand it, developers don't even need to do anything super special anymore. Basically they just tick a box to have the app respect size classes and it ensures the app looks proper on any iDevice.
Oh yea show me how thats done please. Haha what should kill you is your naivety in believing that this is in fact true. First off, even with an app built from scratch support size classes the proper way involves maybe layout changes, rather than simply leaving the constraints as they are. For example a list of things could be split into 2 columns to take advantage of the new space etc. Otherwise it would just be a bigger version of the 9.7". Device based layout and design might be necessary and takes up resources. So even with a brand new app, its not as simple as just supporting the size class.

The more critical point here is the fact that Facebook is a legacy app, built well before size classes were introduced. Although I'm sure they implemented many of the new tools like size classes and AutoLayout, they are still constrained in some areas by the older code base.

Updating all that is definitely worth it in terms of reducing technical debt and legacy code. But on the other hand the iPad Pro accounts probably for 1% of their user base. Halloween skins will reach 99% of their user base, attracting them to the app in and during the Halloween period. And we all know halloween is a big holiday, where people shop, eat and leisure. All these activities are super important to Facebook and its marketing partners.

#priorities
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kobayagi Avatar
118 months ago
Finally(!!) Now, my life = complete
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zorn Avatar
118 months ago
Oh yea show me how thats done please. Haha what should kill you is your naivety in believing that this is in fact true. First off, even with an app built from scratch support size classes the proper way involves maybe layout changes, rather than simply leaving the constraints as they are. For example a list of things could be split into 2 columns to take advantage of the new space etc. Otherwise it would just be a bigger version of the 9.7". Device based layout and design might be necessary and takes up resources. So even with a brand new app, its not as simple as just supporting the size class.

The more critical point here is the fact that Facebook is a legacy app, built well before size classes were introduced. Although I'm sure they implemented many of the new tools like size classes and AutoLayout, they are still constrained in some areas by the older code base.

Updating all that is definitely worth it in terms of reducing technical debt and legacy code. But on the other hand the iPad Pro accounts probably for 1% of their user base. Halloween skins will reach 99% of their user base, attracting them to the app in and during the Halloween period. And we all know halloween is a big holiday, where people shop, eat and leisure. All these activities are super important to Facebook and its marketing partners.

#priorities
Fair enough, I'll stand correct since I'm not a developer. Still though, I think Facebook more than has the resources to update for this, even if it's not a huge segment of their user base. It makes the app look completely unprofessional, especially for a service that comes built into iOS (Facebook login is in the settings, and there's one button download of the app). If I were Apple, I would tell them they stand to risk losing their "most favored nation" status within the OS if they can't properly update their app. This isn't a tiny indy dev that can't bother with a flagship device.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
118 months ago
Tiny bit of shine to the heart makes it a candy heart... okay, fine, I'll buy that, but I'm pretty certain the like button wasn't changed at all. What makes it a skeleton now?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...