How to Delete Stickers on iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide for Every Sticker Type

How to Delete Stickers on iPhone

The exact steps for how to delete stickers on iPhone depend on what kind of sticker you want to remove.

A sticker you created from a photo is managed differently from a sticker placed on a Messages bubble. Memoji stickers are tied to the Memoji that created them, while stickers supplied by third-party iMessage apps can be turned off separately.

Quick answer: If you want to delete a saved custom or Live Sticker, open Photos, open a photo, choose Edit > Markup > Add > Add Sticker, touch and hold the sticker, then tap Remove. If you want to remove a sticker that someone placed on a message bubble, use Sticker Details in Messages instead.

iOS note: Apple can change menu names and layouts between iOS releases. The instructions below follow Apple’s current support documentation available at the time of publication.

Match the sticker to the right removal method

What you want to remove	Where you manage it	What happens
A saved custom or Live Sticker	Photos → Markup → Add Sticker	Removes the saved sticker from your sticker collection
A sticker placed on a message bubble	Messages → Sticker Details	Removes that sticker from the specific message bubble on iPhone
A Memoji sticker set	Messages → Memoji	Deleting the Memoji removes its associated sticker set
A third-party sticker app	Settings → Apps → Messages → iMessage Apps	Turns the app’s Messages integration off; deleting the app removes it from the device

Apple’s current documentation confirms separate management paths for saved photo-based stickers, stickers placed on Messages bubbles, Memoji, and iMessage apps.

Delete a Saved Custom or Live Sticker

If you created a sticker from a photo or Live Photo and now want it gone from your sticker collection, you can remove it through the Photos app.

Steps to delete a saved sticker on iPhone

1. Open Photos on your iPhone.
2. Open any photo.
3. Tap Edit.
4. Tap the Markup button.
5. Tap the Add button.
6. Tap Add Sticker.
7. Touch and hold the sticker you want to remove.
8. Tap Remove.

Apple’s current iPhone guide gives this as the deletion path for stickers created from photos.

Your custom stickers can be used from the sticker menu in places such as Messages, and Apple says stickers sync through iCloud so they can be available on compatible devices signed in to the same Apple Account.

What happens when you remove a saved sticker?

Removing the sticker from its saved collection is different from simply removing a sticker from a message.

If you only want to remove a sticker that was placed over a message bubble, use the Sticker Details method described below instead.

Don’t Confuse Recents With Actual Sticker Deletion

One common reason people have trouble figuring out how to delete stickers on iPhone is that the sticker picker can show recently used stickers.

Removing or changing something you see in a recent-items area is not necessarily the same as deleting the underlying saved custom sticker.

For a sticker that you created from a photo, use the actual saved-sticker management path:

Photos → Edit → Markup → Add → Add Sticker → touch and hold the sticker → Remove.

If a sticker still appears somewhere after you thought you removed it, first determine whether you’re looking at:

• a saved custom or Live Sticker,
• a sticker attached to a message bubble,
• a Memoji sticker,
• or a sticker supplied by an iMessage app.

Each category has a different management method.

Remove a Sticker From a Message Bubble

If someone placed a sticker directly on top of a message bubble, you don’t need to delete the saved sticker itself.

Instead, you can remove that sticker from the message bubble through Sticker Details.

Steps

1. Open Messages.
2. Open the conversation containing the sticker.
3. Touch and hold the message bubble with the sticker.
4. Tap Sticker Details.
5. Swipe left on the sticker you want to remove.
6. Tap the Delete button.

Apple specifically documents this as an iPhone-only way to remove a sticker placed on a message bubble.

Does this delete the sticker everywhere?

No. This action is for removing the sticker from that particular message bubble. It does not mean you have deleted the corresponding saved sticker from your sticker collection.

That’s an important distinction:

• Saved sticker: Delete it through the sticker collection in Photos.
• Sticker placed on a message bubble: Remove it through Sticker Details.

Apple’s Messages guide describes the latter as deleting the sticker from the message bubble.

What if the sticker is covering text?

Apple also provides a way to see text covered by a sticker: double-tap the message bubble.

Delete a Memoji Sticker Set

Memoji stickers work differently from custom stickers made from photos.

Apple says a Memoji automatically becomes a sticker pack that can be used in Messages, Mail, and some third-party apps.

Because the stickers are associated with the Memoji, the way to remove that sticker set is to delete the corresponding Memoji.

Steps to delete a Memoji

1. Open Messages.
2. Start a new message or open an existing conversation.
3. Tap the Plus button.
4. Swipe up and tap Memoji.
5. Swipe to the Memoji you want to remove.
6. Tap the More button.
7. Tap Delete.

Apple’s current Memoji instructions confirm that you can edit, duplicate, or delete an existing Memoji from this menu.

Can you delete just one Memoji sticker?

Not as an individual sticker from the Memoji pack.

Memoji stickers are generated from the Memoji character. If you delete that Memoji, its associated sticker set is removed as well.

If you want to keep the Memoji but simply stop using a particular sticker pose, you don’t need to delete the entire character. You can leave the Memoji intact and choose a different sticker when sending messages.

Remove or Disable Third-Party Sticker Packs

Some stickers come from third-party iMessage apps rather than Apple’s built-in sticker features.

If a sticker app keeps appearing in Messages and you don’t want to use it, you can turn that iMessage app off without necessarily deleting the app.

Turn off a third-party sticker app

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap Messages.
4. Tap iMessage Apps.
5. Tap the sticker app to turn it off.

Apple’s current iMessage app documentation confirms this Settings path and says you can turn individual iMessage apps on or off.

What if you want to remove the app completely?

You can also delete the third-party app itself. Apple notes that iMessage apps can be deleted or removed from the Home Screen, and apps can be downloaded again from the App Store if you change your mind.

So there are two different choices:

Turn the app off:
Keeps the app installed but stops its iMessage integration.

Delete the app:
Removes the app from the iPhone.

What to Do If You Can’t Find the Delete Option

If you don’t see Remove or Delete, first identify which kind of sticker you’re looking at.

1. You’re looking at a saved custom sticker

Use:

Photos → Edit → Markup → Add → Add Sticker

Then touch and hold the sticker and tap Remove.

2. You’re trying to remove a sticker from a message bubble

Don’t look for the deletion control in the sticker picker.

Instead:

Touch and hold the message bubble → Sticker Details → swipe left on the sticker → Delete.

3. It’s a Memoji sticker

Memoji stickers are connected to a Memoji character. To remove the associated sticker set, manage or delete the Memoji itself.

4. It’s from a third-party iMessage app

Go to:

Settings → Apps → Messages → iMessage Apps

Then turn the relevant app off.

5. You’re using a different iOS version

Apple’s interface can change between iOS releases. If a button isn’t in exactly the location described above, look for the same feature under the corresponding Stickers, Markup, Memoji, or iMessage Apps controls.

Saved Sticker vs. Message Sticker: What’s the Difference?

This is the easiest way to choose the correct method.

Situation	Use this method
You made a sticker from a photo and want it gone from your collection	Photos → Markup → Add Sticker → Remove
A sticker is sitting on top of a message bubble	Messages → Sticker Details → Delete
You don’t want a particular Memoji’s sticker pack anymore	Delete the associated Memoji
A downloaded sticker app keeps appearing in Messages	Turn off its iMessage app integration
You want the third-party sticker app completely gone	Delete the app

The key is to identify where the sticker exists before trying to delete it.

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