WhatsApp is finally adding 3D avatars to its growing feature set, today. Users can set avatars as profile photo and even share them with others in the form of stickers in chats. WhatsApp will offer a predefined set while also giving ample options for customisation, the instant messaging platform writes in a blog post.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has officially kicked off the rollout saying, “We’re bringing avatars to WhatsApp! Now you can use your avatar as a sticker in chats,” adding that “More styles [are] coming soon across all our apps.”
Sister apps Instagram, Facebook and Messenger have had a feature like this for some time, so you can say that WhatsApp has some catching up to do. It has been in development for some time. Popular WhatsApp update tracking website, WABetaInfo, had spotted and reported in November, about the feature being tested on beta iOS version of the app
Users will be able to create avatars on WhatsApp in two ways— create one from “billions of combinations of diverse hair styles, facial features, and outfits” or choose from “one of 36 custom stickers reflecting many different emotions and actions”. As mentioned earlier, these avatars can be set up as profile photo or shared during chats.
WhatsApp further notes that it will continue “to deliver style enhancements including lighting, shading, hair style textures, and more that will make avatars even better over time.”
The feature should arrive on WhatsApp for most users starting today, so be sure to update your apps to the latest version. If not, it should arrive soon enough. Also, unlike the testing phase, avatars should be more broadly available to all users regardless of the platform they’re – Android/iOS— on.
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