How to use any image as an iMessage sticker (iOS 17+ guide)

iOS 17 lets you turn any image with a transparent subject into a reusable iMessage sticker — no app, no developer account. Here's the 90-second flow.

Before iOS 17 you needed Xcode and an Apple Developer account to ship a Sticker Pack app. Now Apple has baked sticker creation into the OS itself: long-press any image, tap Add Sticker, and it's instantly available everywhere — Messages, Mail, Notes, third-party keyboards. It works perfectly with stickr's transparent PNG exports.

You'll need iOS 17 or later. Check Settings → General → About → Software Version. iOS 17 shipped September 2023; if your iPhone is from 2018 or later, you're good.

the 90-second flow

download your stickr pack to your iphone

On the preview screen, tap download all to grab the ZIP. Open it in Files, then tap each PNG and choose Save Image — they land in your Photos library.

Shortcut: if you're on a Mac, AirDrop straight from the browser to your phone. Photos handles the rest.

long-press the subject in photos

Open the sticker PNG in Photos, then touch and hold directly on your pet. iOS lights up the subject with a shimmering outline and pops a contextual menu.

tap 'add sticker'

From that menu, tap Add Sticker. iOS adds it to your global sticker drawer. You can also tap Add Effect first to give it a puffy outline, comic-book look, or shimmer.

use it anywhere

Open any Messages thread, tap the emoji/sticker icon, then the sticker tab. Your pet is there. Drag it onto a message bubble to slap it on top, or send it as its own message. The same sticker also appears in Mail, Notes, and any third-party app that uses the iOS sticker keyboard.

A pet sticker slapped at a jaunty angle on top of a blue iMessage bubble, with the sticker drawer peeking up from below — and there it is — your pet, slapped onto a chat bubble like a Tapback. iOS treats them like first-class citizens.

"can i make a proper installable pack instead?"

Yes — Apple supports a separate "Sticker Pack App" you can ship on the App Store. It's drag-and-drop in Xcode (no code) but it does cost the $99/year Apple Developer fee, and your pack has to pass App Store review. For a pack you're only sharing with friends and family, the iOS 17 Live Sticker flow above is dramatically simpler.

Apple's spec for proper packs: PNG, APNG, or GIF with transparency, ≤500KB per sticker, in three size tiers (Small 300×300, Medium 408×408, Large 618×618). stickr's output already meets the Medium tier; bump it through a free resizer if you want all three sizes.

troubleshooting

"Add Sticker" doesn't show up — your image probably doesn't have a clearly-separable subject. stickr's exports come pre-cut on a transparent background, so this shouldn't happen — but if you brought your own image, iOS needs decent contrast between subject and background.
Sticker looks pixelated — iOS samples the long-press selection at roughly 300px. Re-export from stickr at full resolution (we save 1024px+).
Can't find them in Messages — they live under the second tab in the sticker drawer (next to emojis), not the first. The icon looks like a peeling sticker.

want truly one-click?

iOS 17 still requires that long-press dance per sticker. The only chat app where stickr can push a full pack in one tap is Telegram — tap "send to telegram" on the preview screen and you'll have a shareable pack URL in about 10 seconds.

how to use your pack as imessage stickers