If you browsed through Facebook this weekend, you may have seen a few unusual things. That is because the company has started releasing its Avatar feature to users in the United States a few days ago.
Those Avatars are Bitmoji-like stickers that Facebook users can include in their daily posting on the platform. Although it is not a revolutionary feature, the ability to add personalized and playful Avatars does give users a sense of creativity and fun while using the social media network.
Facebook’s Avatars
Similar to Bitmoji, the customization options for Facebook Avatars are broad and include a variety of different character styles and emotions. As soon as your Avatar is created, you can see it in Messenger, Facebook Stories, on text posts with backgrounds, and in the comments section of other users’ posts.
“So much of our interactions these days are taking place online, which is why it’s more important than ever to be able to express yourself personally on Facebook,” Fidji Simo of Facebook said in recent a post.
“Avatars enable you to share a range of emotions and expressions via a digital persona that’s uniquely representative of you, so we’re excited to bring this new form of self-expression to more people around the world,” Simo added. “With so many emotions and expressions to choose from, avatars let you react and engage more authentically with family and friends across the app.”
How to Create Your Own Avatar on Facebook
If you want to already design your custom Avatar, the process is rather easy and straightforward. Simply launch the Facebook app and click on the menu consisting of three vertically stacked lines. Once selected, find the ‘See More’ option and select ‘Avatars.’
You can also head to a comment window on any post and tap on the ‘smiley’ icon on the right-hand side, and you’ll see a ‘Make Your Avatar’ option appearing. Selecting this option will take you to the Avatar creation tool. From there, you can start picking from a variety of skin tones, hairstyles, face shapes, eye colors, outfits, and so on.
Overall, it is a pretty simple process. Although the new Avatars are not as fun or engaging as Bitmoji, they are definitely more fun than having none.