To use Reactions, all you have to do is hover over the traditional Like button on the web (or tap to hold on mobile), and choose from six different animated emoji reactions if a simple thumbs up is not enough. Including Like, the other five Reactions factor in Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. We understand that this is a big change, and want to be thoughtful about rolling this out. For more than a year we have been conducting global research including focus groups and surveys to determine what types of reactions people would want to use most. We also looked at how people are already commenting on posts and the top stickers and emoticons as signals for the types of reactions people are already using to determine which reactions to offer.

Specifics on the introduction of Reactions to the mobile app were not given, but presumably the iOS and Android apps will see a slow rollout of Reactions alongside their web-based counterpart. Facebook said its early beta tests of Reactions "have received positive feedback so far," so it's confident users will see the use in an assorted mix of emotive responses in lieu of the previous solitary thumbs up button.

We’ve known since last year that Facebook was working on a replacement for the Like button, which offered quick reactions to posts, but could be awkward when users “like” a post that isn’t exactly happy. Fear not, as you can now respond to posts in a much more expressive manner, and it only takes a fraction of a second longer to do. Facebook announced today that the replacement for the old Like button, known as Reactions, are now rolling out globally. To add a reaction to a post, all you need to do is hold down the like button on a mobile device or mouse over it on a desktop or PC and watch as the expanded options pop into view.

The full lineup of Reactions is now includes Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. Instead of the standard “like” notification, the person whose post you’re responding to will now see that you “reacted” to the post. The company has been testing Reactions since last year, but only in a small number of markets. So far the response has been good, Facebook says, hence the global rollout. Despite the relatively small amount of new responses, the company put a lot of time and effort into deciding which types of reactions users need the most.

Facebook tested the reactions for over the year, using focus groups and surveys to build data around how people react. Considering the amount of different languages Facebook supports and the different cultures in which the social network is used, it took significant effort to decide on a set of reactions that would translate well throughout the world.

That doesn’t mean that the six Reactions currently available will be the only ones available. ” We will continue learning and listening to feedback to make sure we have a set of reactions that will be useful for everyone,” Facebook product manager Sammi Krug wrote.

As usual with global rollouts from Facebook, not everyone will necessarily get the new Reactions at once. If you don’t see them yet, it should only be a matter of time.