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Instagram users to be offered 3D avatars

Meta announced Instagram users are to be offered 3D avatars and which will also be rolled out on Facebook and Messenger.

Instagram users to be offered 3D avatars

Users in the United States, Canada, and Mexico can now appear as their virtual selves in stickers, Facebook profile pictures, and feed posts.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: "We’re updating Meta avatars with a lot more expressions, faces and skin tones, as well as wheelchairs and hearing aids. 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.”

This new update means that users can use the same avatar across all of Meta’s platforms, including VR. Any changes users make to their avatar on Facebook or Messenger will be synced across to their Instagram profile too. Users will still have the option to use different avatars on different platforms.

“VR and Quest are key parts of our metaverse vision, but we see the metaverse as an interconnected digital world, one that bridges VR and AR, in addition to more familiar platforms like your phone and computer,” said Aigerim Shorman, Meta’s general manager for avatars and identity, in a blog post about the new launch.

“Rolling out avatars across our platforms is an early step towards making this a reality. We hope your new virtual self enables you to be represented online the way you want.”

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