Why Aren’t Emojis Appearing in My Emoji Cloud?

Written By Team Streamalive

Last updated 2 days ago

Overview

StreamAlive’s Emoji Cloud captures emojis that participants type directly into the chat. However, a common issue occurs when participants use their platform’s built-in reaction buttons instead of typing emojis as text. These platform reactions are sent through a different system and are not captured by StreamAlive.

This behaviour has been observed on Microsoft Teams and may also affect Zoom.

💡 Key Insight: Reaction emojis (the flating animations that appear when you click a reaction button) are different from emojis typed as text in the chat. Only typed emojis are captured by StreamAlive

Root Cause

When participants use the Reactions panel (e.g. the emoji button in the meeting toolbar), the emoji is sent as a platform-level event — not as a chat message. StreamAlive reads the chat feed and therefore cannot detect these reactions.

Typed emojis, on the other hand, appear as standard chat messages and are picked up correctly.

Platform-Specific Details

Microsoft Teams

Teams offers two distinct ways to use emojis during a meeting:

  • Reactions panel (toolbar button during a call) — sends a floating animation visible to meeting participants but not captured in the chat feed. StreamAlive cannot detect these.

  • Chat emojis (typed or inserted via the emoji picker in the chat box) — appear as standard chat messages. StreamAlive can detect these.

Zoom

Zoom similarly separates reactions from chat messages:

  • Reactions button (in the meeting controls bar) — displays emoji animations on screen for all attendees, but does not post to the chat. StreamAlive cannot detect these.

  • Chat emojis (typed in the Zoom chat window) — StreamAlive can detect these.

How to Fix It

Ask your participants to type their emojis directly into the chat instead of using the platform’s reaction button. Here are suggested instructions you can share:

Platform

Instructions for Participants

Microsoft Teams

Open the Chat panel, type your emoji directly (e.g. 😀 👍 ❤️), and press Enter. Do not use the Reactions button in the meeting toolbar.

Zoom

Open the Chat window, type your emoji directly (e.g. 😀 👍 ❤️), and press Enter. Do not use the Reactions button in the meeting controls bar.

Tips for Hosts

  • At the start of your session, verbally remind participants to type emojis in the chat rather than using the platform’s reaction buttons.

  • Consider pinning a message in the chat at the beginning of the session with clear instructions, for example: “To participate in the Emoji Cloud, type your emojis directly into this chat! 🚀🎉❤️”

  • You can demonstrate by typing an emoji in the chat yourself, so participants can see exactly what you mean.

Still Not Working?

If emojis typed in the chat are still not appearing in the Emoji Cloud, check the following:

  • Ensure StreamAlive is connected to your meeting and the Emoji Cloud activity is active and running.

  • Confirm that StreamAlive has the correct chat permissions for your meeting platform.

  • Try refreshing the StreamAlive dashboard and have a participant test-type an emoji.

  • If the issue persists, contact StreamAlive support at support@streamalive.com with details of your platform and the emojis that were not captured.