In a piece of recent news, Instagram will be getting 3D avatars for its stories and direct messages. The company has released updates of the existing avatars for Facebook as well as Messenger.
3D Avatar’s for Instagram
In a blog post, Meta’s General Manager for avatars and identity, Aigerim Shorman, quoted, “Since revealing our long-term vision of the metaverse at Connect 2021, we’ve continued building out this next evolution of social technology building towards a future where you can sit in the same room as loved ones who are actually thousands of miles away or work naturally with a talented team that spans the globe.”
Meta’s latest updates include the following introductions:
- Adjustable new facial shapes for a more authentic look
- Assistive devices like wheelchairs, implants, and hearing aid for being more inclusive of differently-abled users.
Currently, the update is available for particular regions in the US, Canada and Mexico, including other countries where the rollout has already begun. People in these specific regions can access and avail to appear as their usual selves in sticker feed posts as well as profile pictures.
Meta has also partnered with the NFL to release Super Bowl LVI shirts for avatars. People can now outfit their avatars with limited-time shirts of either Cincinnati Bengals or Los Angeles Rams.
Simultaneous Updates on Facebook and Messenger
The parent company, Meta, is simultaneously rolling out updated avatars on Facebook as well as Messenger. Any changes made to avatars on Facebook and Messenger will also reflect in Instagram avatars, although users can keep different avatars if they like.
“We’re updating Meta avatars with a lot more expressions, faces and skin tones, as well as wheelchairs and hearing aids,” added Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. He further added, “We’re starting to experiment with digital clothing too. You can use your avatar across Quest, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. One day you’ll have multiple avatars ranging from expressive to photorealistic. Looking forward to sharing more soon.”
Maintaining Strict Competition
Meta first launched avatars in 2020 as a way to compete with Snapchat’s Bitmoji and has been continuously updating them since. These new changes come as Meta launched new avatar options for eyes, noses, beards and hairstyles last year with the goal of making them more customizable and diverse.
However, Meta declined to share any numbers related to avatar adoption to date. As per the company, its primary goal is to make it easier for users to move their avatars from place to place. Meta also plans to share further updates on the same in the future.
