How to Add a Sticker to a Photo on iPhone, Android, and Online: the Complete Guide

by Lina Thorne • Updated 6/16/2025 · Posted in Photography

Have you ever looked at a photo and felt it needed a little extra pop? Maybe you want to jazz up a selfie, highlight a special moment, or make your social media posts stand out. Maybe you want to hide some sensitive info or, vice versa, draw the attention to an important detail. Well, adding a sticker is a quick and easy way to make any photo more engaging.

We’ll walk you through all the why’s and how’s. You’ll learn how to add a sticker to a photo using different methods and apps. No matter if you’re an iPhone user, an Android fan, or you prefer working on your computer, this guide will provide you with everything you need to know and help you achieve your goals.

Why Add a Sticker to a Photo?

Stickers aren’t just for kids – with them, you can personalize your photos or hide some sensitive information in a fun way. Here are the main reasons to add a sticker to your photos:

Express Yourself. A sticker can instantly show your mood or add a touch of personality to your images. Feeling playful? Go for a funny emoji. Feeling artsy? Add a silly doodle or a sticker that complements your vibe.
Hide Sensitive Info. Say, you took a selfie at a public place and now want to conceal the identities of people in the background. Or maybe you want to share a screenshot without revealing some personal info. Cover it up with a sticker!
Highlight Details. Stickers can also help you achieve the opposite result – draw attention to important parts of your photo. For example, you can use an arrow sticker or a frame sticker to point out a landmark in the background or a particular person in a group shot.
Boost Engagement. On social media, adding a sticker can make your post more eye-catching, encouraging more likes, comments, and shares. This is also how you can tie your photos to particular occasions – imagine adding hearts and pink sparkles for Valentine’s Day or pumpkins for Halloween.

How to Add a Sticker to a Photo on iPhone

Fortunately, this is super easy! And there’s a built-in feature in the Photos app for this, so you won’t have to download or install anything.

Here’s what you need to add a sticker to a photo on iPhone:

Open the Photos app and select the photo you want to edit.
Tap the Edit icon at the bottom of the screen.
Tap the icon that looks like a pen tip inside a circle – this the Markup tool.
To access the additional tools, tap the + button in the bottom right corner.
Choose the Add Sticker option.
Browse through the available stickers and once you find the one that you like, tap on it. It will appear on your photo.
Reposition the sticker by dragging it.
Pinch and spread with two fingers to adjust the size of your sticker. You can rotate it with your fingers, as well.
Tap Done to save your changes, then tap Done again to finish editing.

The edited image will be saved to your gallery. Doesn’t take much time and effort, right?

What if you changed your mind after you added a sticker? Luckily, it’s not that hard to remove it:

Open the photo with the sticker in the Photos app.
Tap on Edit > the Markup icon.
Tap the + button, then tap on Add Sticker.
Tap on the sticker that you want to remove and hold your finger for a bit. Once you see the Remove button, tap on it. And your sticker will be removed!

Here’s a tip

You can also use the Markup tool to add text to photos on your iPhone as well as shapes and even signatures, so feel free to get creative!

How to Add a Sticker to a Photo on Android

If you are an Android user, don’t worry, you will be able to add a sticker using a built-in app, too. But since there’s a broad variety of smartphone brands and models that run on Android, the steps may slightly vary.

Here’s how you can do this:

Open the Gallery app on your smartphone, then find and open the necessary photo.
Tap the Edit button or icon to enable the editing mode.
If you can see the Sticker icon in the toolbar, tap on it. If you don’t see it, it might be hiding in the additional features. Tap on the More button or icon, then choose the Sticker option.
Browse through the sticker gallery. Once you found the sticker that you like, tap on it.
Once your sticker is added to your photo, you can reposition it with your finger. Using the corners of your sticker, resize and rotate it.
Tap on the checkmark button to apply the changes. Then tap on the Save button in the upper right corner to save your edited photo. Depending on the smartphone you’re using, you might be asked whether you want to save the edited image as a copy or replace the original. So, choose the necessary option.

Please note that once you add a sticker, you won’t be able to remove it in the majority of cases. So, it’s better to save your edited image as a new file.

How to Add a Sticker to a Photo Using PicsArt

What if you can’t find a sticker that you like in the built-in app? What if you want a broader library as well as more flexibility and creative freedom? Or maybe there’s simply no built-in option for adding stickers to photos on your smartphone?

You can use a third-party app, instead. For instance, PisArt, AI-powered image editor, can be a good choice. It’s incredibly easy to use and available for both iOS and Android.

Here’s how it works:

Go to the App Store or Google Play and download PicsArt.
Open the app and tap the Edit a photo button, then select the necessary image.
Select the Sticker option in the toolbar at the bottom.
PicsArt offers a huge library of stickers. To speed things up, you can type in the key word in the search bar.
Tap on the sticker of your choice. It’ll be added to your photo.
You can add a border or a shadow to your sticker, if you want. Reposition, resize and rotate it.
Tap on the checkmark icon to save and apply the changes.
Export your edited photo by tapping on the Download button at the top.

All done! The process is very similar to using a built-in gallery app, but the choice is much broader!

On top of that, PicsArt allows you to create custom stickers from your photos. It can be very useful if you want to make your content even more personal and unique!

The steps are pretty simple:

Import the main image.
Select the Add Photo option at the bottom.
Upload the necessary photo, then scroll to the left until you see the Cutout option. Tap on it.
You need to select the subject. If it is a person, simply tap on Select. But if it’s an object, use the Outline to create an outline around the object that should be selected. You can also give a try to the Shape or the Brush options. Finetune the selection with the Erase, if needed.
Tap the checkmark icon.
Voila! The background is removed.
Resize and reposition your sticker using your finger. Make any other adjustments if necessary.
Tap the checkmark icon, when you’re finished with the editing.

And now, a custom sticker is added to your photo!

Please note that PicsArt is an amazing app, but its free version does have some limitations. So, to unlock its full potential, you might need to purchase the paid version.

Here’s a tip

If you don’t like PicsArt, you can opt for a different image editing app. PhotoDirector or Canva allows you to add a sticker to a photo, as well. Their vast libraries include free and premium stickers – from emojis to shapes to seasonal designs.

How to Add a Sticker to a Photo Using Instagram

If you want to blur part of a picture or just hide some sensitive info in a photo – e.g. your home address or someone’s face – then share it online safely, you might not need a third-party image editor. Like many social media platforms, Instagram has a built-in editor that offers a vast library of stickers. So, you can easily add a sticker to your photo right in the app.

It’s worth noting, though, that stickers are only available if you want to share an image as a Story.

Follow these simple steps:

Open Instagram and tap the + icon, then choose Story.
Tap on the Gallery button in the bottom left corner, then select and import the necessary image.
Tap on the Sticker icon at the top of the screen.
Enter the key word in the Search bar.
Choose the sticker that you like, then tap on it.
Reposition the sticker by dragging it. Pinch to resize the sticker. Rotate it using your fingers.
You can also add a text to photo, if you want.
You can go ahead and post your image with the sticker to your stories. But if you want to save it, tap on the three dots in the upper right corner, then tap on the Save button.

It’s not difficult at all, right? And you can use this method on both iOS and Android!

How to Add a Sticker to a Photo on Windows or Mac

If you prefer editing on your computer or want more creative control, Canva’s web-based app is a fantastic option. With it, you can create some beautiful-looking images.

So, go to Canva.com and log into your account or sign up for free. Then do the following:

Go to Create > Upload. Then import the photo that you want to add stickers to.
Click on Use in a new design > Custom size > Create new design.
Once your photo is open in Canva’s editor, go to the Elements section in the left-hand menu.
Type “sticker” into the search bar. Look through Canva’s huge selection of stickers – from emojis to flowers or text bubbles. But please note that if a sticker is marked with a crown, then you can use it only if you have Canva Pro.
Click on a sticker to add it to your photo.
Make the necessary adjustments to your sticker until you’re happy with the result.
Add a photo caption or more stickers, if desired.
Are you ready to download your image? Go to Share > Download in the top right corner. Choose your preferred file type (PNG or JPG).

How to Add an Emoji to Your Photos Using Watermarkly

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to add stickers to your photos using Watermarkly. But what if you need to add an emoji? This can be done!

All the previous methods allow you to add a sticker to a single photo. But in Watermarkly, you can actually add one and the same emoji to a batch of photos – quickly and easily! And since Watermarkly is a web-based app, you can do this on iOS and Android devices as well as on Mac and Windows.

Follow these steps:

Open Watermarkly’s app to watermark photos and import the necessary images from your device, a cloud storage or via web link.
Click on Add Text.
Delete the Your Text words, then insert your emoji of choice into the text input area.
Adjust the placement and the size of your emoji as well as rotate it or add an effect.
Go to the export settings by clicking on the Next Step button.
In the export settings, click on Preview&Adjust. In this section, you can adjust the size and position of your emoji on each image in the batch.
Return to the export settings, then start the watermarking process, wait a bit and download your edited copies!

Add a Blur Instead of a Sticker

Say, you need to conceal some sensitive information. Adding a sticker can help you with that in a fun and creative way. However, stickers might not be suitable for some business purposes.

If you need to hide something in your images, yet you want them to still look neat and professional, go for the alternative option – cover the sensitive information with a blur. If you are a newbie at image editing, don’t worry – you will be able to do this within just a few clicks using Watermarkly:

Open Watermarkly’s Blur Face tool import one or several images.
The app will detect faces and license plates, then blur them automatically. If there’s some other object that you need to blur, you can do this manually. Click on the Add Blur button.
Click on the Intensity, then adjust the slider to make the blur more intense.
The Objects section allows you to unselect some of the automatically detected objects.
Click on the blur, then use to the cursor to reposition, resize and rotate it. It’s possible to pick an oval or rectangular shape, too.
Adjust the export settings, then start the blurring process. When it’s finished, download your copies.

That’s it! The blurred areas will fit into your photo unobtrusively, yet all the sensitive information will be hidden.

Conclusion

Adding a sticker to a photo is an easy and creative way to express your personality, highlight key details, hide sensitive information, or simply give your social media posts that extra wow factor. You can do this using a built-in app or a third-party app on iPhone or Android. Moreover, it can be done on a computer, too – just use a web-based app like Canva.

Now that you have the step-by-step instructions and know all about the necessary tools, you will surely get great results, even if you’re new to this. So go ahead – let your creativity shine, and make every photo a little more you.