Sending the fireworks or shooting star animation on your iOS device is just like sending lasers, balloons or confetti. Animations can only be sent between iOS devices running iOS 10 or later. If you are sending effects to someone who is not running iOS 10 or later, or is using a device that does not support iOS 10, they will not be able to see your animation. You need iOS 11 or later for all 9 of the screen animations, including Echo and Spotlight.
Here's how to send firework/shooting star animations on your iOS device.
- Open your Messages app and select the contact or group you want to message.
- Type your text message in the iMessage bar as you normally would.
- Tap and hold down the blue arrow until the "Send with effect" screen appears.
- Tap Screen.
- Swipe left until you find the effect you want to use.
- Tap the blue arrow to send your text message with the selected effect attached.
Update 2: iOS 10.1 allows screen effects to be played with Reduce Motion enabled.
Update: If you can't access the screen effects on your iOS device it is probably because you have the Reduce Motion slider enabled. Navigate to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion, then tap the slider so it is OFF/WHITE. Now you should be able to access all screen and bubble effects in iOS 10 or later.