Facebook has just announced its very own 3D Bitmoji-style Avatars. The addition comes after the huge success of Snapchat’s Bitmoji avatar feature, which allows users to create avatars of themselves, and dress them up.
Facebook avatars can be used in its chat app Messenger, and will even represent you in Facebook’s in-app games. This feature however, is restricted to the mobile version of the app, and not yet available for the Web client.
Related: How to use Messenger Rooms
Can you create Facebook Avatar without the app on your phone?
Since Facebook avatars can only be created on the Facebook mobile app, the question arises, if you can create them without using your smartphone. The setting is, as of now, unavailable on the Facebook website.
Luckily for desktop users, there is a workaround. With this hack, you can create a Facebook avatar right on your PC! Read on to learn more.
How to create Facebook Avatar on PC
To create a Facebook avatar on your PC, first we need to install BlueStacks. It’s a powerful and simple to use Android emulator that can run Android apps on Windows PC and Mac.
Using this emulator, we will install the Facebook mobile app on a PC in order to create a Facebook avatar so that you don’t need to install the fat app on your phone.
First head over to the BlueStacks website, and download and run the BlueStacks installer on your PC. Once installed, you will be asked to sign in with your Google ID. This helps you access the Google Play Store within the emulator.
Once in the emulator, click on the Play Store and search for the Facebook app. Install the app, and close the Play Store to go back to the BlueStacks home page.
Launch the Facebook app and sign in with your credentials. Now click on the Hamburger menu (three lines) in the top panel of the app.
Scroll down and click ‘See more’. Here you will find the option to build your avatar.
You can now create your Facebook avatar and customize them how you would like within the BlueStacks app!
Avatar option not available?
Well, the Avatar feature is not available in many countries at the moment. So, if you are in a country where it is not available yet, then you will not see the feature as it’s not available for your ID yet.
The Avatar feature released in the US a few days back but it was already available in the UK and some other countries in Europe for a while. However, it’s still not available in many regions across the globe.
Use Avatar in Messenger app on your phone without Facebook app
Whether it’s because the Facebook app is bulky or you’re just purging yourself of social media, a number of users do not keep the mobile app on their smartphone. If you are one of them, you need not worry. Once you have created your Facebook avatar, the avatar stays associated with your account.
This means that you can delete the Facebook app from BlueStacks if you want, and still have your Facebook avatar available to use in Facebook Messenger. The avatar will be available to use as stickers in the Messenger app.
These Facebook avatars allow users to communicate in a more personalized manner, by inserting themselves into the conversation. The avatar stickers can be used on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and can even be set as your Facebook Profile Picture!