Avatars are coming to WhatsApp! As on Meta’s other platforms, you can now create your digital double to replace your profile picture with a more anonymous and fun image to brighten up your conversations.
It seems that all Meta family platforms have the right to their little virtual characters! After stories, groups, reactions to messages and other functions borrowed from Messenger, Instagram and Facebook, WhatsApp in turn adopts avatars. IM users can now create an image of their digital double to their liking with thousands of possible characterization trait combinations. They can use it as a profile picture or as a reaction in a conversation – there are currently 36 stickers, but more will come later –, a bit like emojis or stickers. Too bad, however, that you can’t import your avatar from other platforms. Meta promises to regularly update and improve this new feature – which is being rolled out – including optimizing the rendering of brightness, shadows, hair texture and other details that are supposed to make avatars look even better. realistic. Because, for the time being, they would really need it…
How to create a WhatsApp avatar?
To use this function, you must first create your avatar. You’re starting with an asexual character – so don’t be surprised if WhatsApp doesn’t ask you for your gender – but things like haircut, body shape, or even the presence of a beard or mustache will remedy that. Likewise, you cannot indicate your age, but you can suggest it by playing with various options such as hair color or wrinkles. The goal is to be as inclusive as possible, so that everyone can represent themselves as they want, without being locked into a mold.
► Launch the WhatsApp application on your mobile and log in to your account if you are not logged in by default.
► On your account home page, tap the three little dots at the top right of the toolbar.
► A drop-down menu opens. Press on Settings.
► A new page opens. Press your profile pictureon top.
► This is getting bigger. Press on camera icon in white and green which is at the bottom of your photo.
► A sidebar appears at the bottom. Press on Avatar.
► A new page opens and a pop-up appears to briefly explain the function. Press the blue button To start up.
► To start, you need to choose your avatar skin color. Tap the displayed thumbnail that suits you – you can always change it later – and hit the blue button Next.
► You then arrive on the personalization screen of your avatar. All you have to do is scroll through the carousel of the different categories (haircut, eye color, face shape, make-up, piercing, clothes, jewellery, etc.) and press each time on one of the combinations to create a digital version of yourself. To Note that a microphone-shaped icon is supposed to allow you to create your avatar directly from a selfie, but this function is not operational at the time of this writing. Once you are satisfied with the result, press Ended top right.
► A pop-up window appears to ask you if you want to save the changes or continue the customization. Press on Save Changes.
► Wait a few seconds, then press the blue button Next.
► The next step offers you to set your avatar as your new profile picture. To do this, simply choose the expression of your avatar as well as the background color of the profile picture. Once it’s done, tap on the little tick in the top right. Otherwise, just return.
How to use and modify his avatar?
Now that you have created your avatar, you can use your virtual double in your chats. Of course, you can change it at any time!
► To send reactions with your avatar to your contacts, go to a conversation and tap on the area where you write your message. Press the smiley on the left of the input area. A series of stickers featuring your avatar appears. Choose the one that suits you and send it.
► To modify your avatar afterwards, go to the Settings (as seen previously) and press Avatar.
► On the new page, tap pencil icon on the right of the image, then modify your avatar as you did during its creation.
Remember that Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg in particular, bet big on avatars, given that they will be the representation of its users in its expensive and unprofitable metaverse.