WhatsApp introduced Avatars around a year ago, which allowed users to create custom stickers and profile pictures in a cartoon format. These avatars became very popular, and WhatsApp is now rolling out animated avatars to some users.
Per WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is rolling out animated avatars with beta version 12.23.16.12 and above. Users who have created an avatar will be able to see an animated avatar tab next to the emoji and stickers tab.
The animated avatars are categorized under several sections based on expressions. These include happy, funny, angry, cheerful, and so on. The animated avatars in WhatsApp are similar to Bitmoji in Snapchat, but the added animations add an extra layer of feelings that can be expressed in your WhatsApp conversations.
The avatar creation page in WhatsApp says that it uses AI resources from Meta, to create personalized animated avatars, from a single image.
📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.12: what's new?
WhatsApp is rolling out an animated avatar feature, and it is available to some beta testers!https://t.co/SChCm2Syqk pic.twitter.com/QgCpZV80iA
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) August 2, 2023
When a sender selects an animated avatar, it is sent as a sticker. The receiver can then add that animated avatar as a sticker to their Favourites section.
How to use Animated Avatars on WhatsApp
To use this animated avatar feature, users should have their avatar set up on their WhatsApp accounts. This can be done by going into Settings > Avatar > Create your Avatar. Once the avatar is created, users on the latest beta version of WhatsApp will see an extra tab next to the emoji, sticker, and GIF section. From here, users will be able to send animated avatars to others.
Also Read: How to create and use Avatars on WhatsApp
Note that the animated avatars feature is only available to beta users of WhatsApp running version 12.23.16.12 or above. The feature appears to working on Android phones as of now. WhatsApp might soon release animated avatars on the stable version as well.
Only the sender needs to be on the beta version to create and send animated avatars. Receivers using older or stable versions of WhatsApp will be able to see and receive animated avatars as animated stickers on both Android and iPhone.
Android users can join the beta program of WhatsApp from the Google Play Store. You can also try manually installing the latest beta version of WhatsApp via APK to try out animated avatars.
Along with animated avatars, WhatsApp is also seen testing a new feature that allows users to set group settings even before creating a group. This feature was spotted in the previous beta version.
Along with this, WhatsApp has also been working on a spam protection feature that will help to detect spam calls and filter them out. This will be an addition to the existing feature where users can silence unknown callers on WhatsApp.
