WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature – making Messenger more personal

Created: 12/12/2022, 4:19 p.m

By: Anna Lorenz

The messenger service WhatsApp is launching a new function that offers users the option of reacting with individualized stickers in the future.

According to Meta, privacy should be able to benefit from this.

Mountain View – The messenger service WhatsApp is used worldwide and, like Facebook or Instagram, belongs to the American company Meta.

As founder Marc Zuckerberg announced a long time ago, work is being done to develop a so-called metaverse.

"What defines it is that you feel really close to other people or in a different place," Zuckerberg explained in March 2022 at the SXSW futures fair in Texas.

It is therefore not surprising that WhatsApp is now coming up with a feature that personalizes the service – and at the same time is intended to ensure privacy.

WhatsApp: New feature to make Messenger experience more personal

Originally intended as a short message service, WhatsApp now offers dozens of ways to exchange information.

Whether audio files, links, videos, photos, in groups or by broadcast - pretty much anything can be sent and shared with others via the app.

But that doesn't seem to be personal enough for the Meta company.

What was already possible on Facebook and Instagram should therefore also find its way into Messenger chats: the avatar.

In addition to an almost endless selection of emojis, GIFS and stickers, WhatsApp users now have the opportunity to create their own Mini-Me.

The menu item has been found on the iPhone for a long time, and Android phones now also have it.

Anyone who opens the chat window in the current version of WhatsApp and selects the emoji section will see a circled plus sign on the lower right edge of the screen.

The click takes the user to the stickers, where under "All stickers" you can find the option to create a meta avatar.

This can be individually designed in appearance with various characteristics.

The Mini-Me can be sent with 36 differently designed stickers.

Meta: Avatars on WhatsApp as an alternative to the classic profile picture

The avatar can also be used as a profile picture.

Contrary to first impressions, Meta sees this as an improvement in the privacy of users.

"This can also be a great way to show yourself without using your real photo to make it feel more private," Meta explains in a blog post.

Of course, critics fear an emphasis on "feels" and that Meta could use the avatars to collect personal information about the users.

The company, on the other hand, refers to data protection, which now also contains explicit regulations on avatars.