How to Delete Stickers on iPhone (2026 Guide: Drawer, Photos & Apps)

How to delete stickers on iPhone depends on where the sticker came from. In most cases: open Messages, tap and hold the sticker in the drawer, then tap Delete.

How to Delete Stickers on iPhone: Quick Steps

1. Open Messages and select a conversation
2. Tap the plus (+) button or the emoji icon
3. Tap Stickers
4. Tap and hold the sticker
5. Tap Delete

This removes the sticker from your personal library only. Nothing else on the phone is affected.

In practice, most people asking this question only need these five steps — the sections below cover the exceptions.

Deleting Stickers by Type

Not every sticker behaves the same way once you try to remove it. Teams that field iPhone support questions commonly report that most of the confusion here comes from assuming all stickers are the same kind of object.

Sticker-Drawer Stickers

These are stored inside the Messages sticker picker. Tap and hold, then Delete — or use Rearrange and tap the minus (–) icon to remove several at once. Changes sync to other devices signed into the same iCloud account.

How to Delete Stickers on iPhone From a Photo

If the sticker was generated from a photo, it deletes the same way, from the drawer. If it's stamped directly onto an image instead, open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, use Markup to select the sticker layer, then delete it. The original photo stays intact either way.

Third-Party Sticker Packs

Delete the app tied to the pack — sticker packs have long made up the majority of apps in Apple's iMessage App Store, according to TechCrunch — via Home Screen, tap and hold the icon, Remove App, then Delete App. In practice, the stickers don't always disappear instantly; a short delay after deletion is normal.

Built-In Apple Stickers and Memojis

These can't be permanently removed — Memoji stickers are built directly into the iMessage platform as part of iOS, according to Wikipedia. Unpinning them from Favorites in the sticker drawer, or removing them from the "More Apps" list, is the closest option to deleting them.

Hiding Stickers Without Deleting Them

Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Emoji, and turn off the sticker toggle. This stops stickers from showing up in the keyboard but doesn't delete anything or free up storage — it's a visibility setting only.

Restoring Deleted Stickers

Reinstall a pack through the App Store under Profile > Purchased > Not on This iPhone. If that doesn't work, restore from an iCloud backup dated before the deletion — Settings > your profile > iCloud > iCloud Backup.

Conclusion

The right method depends on the sticker's origin: drawer, photo, third-party app, or built-in system content. Once identified, deleting or hiding it takes only a few taps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting a sticker delete the photo it came from?

No. The sticker and the original photo are separate once created.

Why do deleted stickers keep reappearing?

Usually because they're built-in Apple stickers, which can be hidden but not fully deleted.

Can Memoji stickers be permanently deleted?

No. They can only be unpinned or hidden from the sticker drawer.

Do deleted stickers sync across devices?

Yes, through iCloud, to any other signed-in Apple device.

Does disabling stickers in Settings free up storage?

No. It only hides them from the keyboard; it doesn't delete data.