WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, is said to be developing an enhanced avatar pack with animated icons. By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) resources from Meta, WhatsApp’s avatar creation page can now create personalized animated avatars using just one image.
WhatsApp Introduces Animated Avatars in Latest Beta Update: A New Dimension of Expression for Chats
The latest beta version 2.23.16.12 update on Google Play Store for Android users includes the introduction of an animated version of the existing avatar pack. According to WABetaInfo, a website that tracks WhatsApp updates, a few beta testers will now have the opportunity to try out the animated icons thanks to this recent update.
The animated avatars are divided into various categories based on their looks, such as blissful, entertaining, angry, bright, and more. These animated avatars, similar to Snapchat’s Bitmoji, bring an extra level of emotion to your WhatsApp conversations with their additional animations.
Using AI resources from Meta, the avatar creation page in WhatsApp now generates personalized animated avatars using just a single image. When a sender chooses an animated avatar, it is sent as a sticker. The recipient can then add this animated icon to their favorites section as a sticker.
To utilize the animated avatar feature, users need to set up an avatar on their WhatsApp accounts, which can be accomplished by going to Settings > Avatar > Create your Avatar. Once the avatar is created, users using the latest beta version of WhatsApp will notice an additional tab next to the emoji, sticker, and GIF section. From there, they can send animated avatars to others.
Please note that this animated avatar feature is currently accessible exclusively to beta users of WhatsApp who are running version 12.23.16.12 or higher. As of now, the feature seems to be compatible only with Android phones. WhatsApp is expected to introduce animated avatars to the stable version in the near future.
The animated avatar feature requires only the sender to be on the beta version to create and send animated avatars. Recipients using older or stable versions of WhatsApp can still view and receive animated icons as animated stickers on both Android and iPhone.
Additional details about avatars on WhatsApp:
Android users can participate in the WhatsApp beta program through the Google Play Store. Alternatively, users can manually install the latest beta version of WhatsApp via APK to try out the avatars. Apart from avatars, WhatsApp has also been testing a feature that allows users to set group settings even before creating a group. This feature was observed in a previous beta version.
Furthermore, WhatsApp is actively developing a spam protection feature to identify and filter out spam calls. This will complement the existing feature where users can mute unknown callers on WhatsApp.
