A guide to the words and phrases that cause special texting effects on your iPhone

There are a few common words that can cause effects on your iPhone.Aleksey Khilko/Shutterstock

• Certain words and phrases can cause special effects in your iPhone's Messages app, which can add a fun flair to your texts.
• The words that cause these effects are usually related to holidays or congratulations.
• These effects will activate on your end whether you're texting another iPhone user or an Android user, but your recipient will need an iPhone to see them.
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Your iPhone's Messages app isn't just for sending texts. You can also send photos, videos, and a wide variety of special effects.

While you can pick and choose from some of these effects by holding your finger down on the send button, other effects only activate when you send certain words or phrases.

Apple doesn't advertise these effects — they're hidden "Easter Eggs" on your iPhone instead.