Long before Apple’s memoi or Meta’s dead avatars, Bitmoji allowed people to transform themselves into cartoon alter egos and appear in comics alongside friends. After Snap acquired the company in 2016, Bitmoji went from message board meme to the official avatar of Snapchat. They serve as your profile picture. And they also appear as stickers in the feed, turning conversations into zany scenes between you and your friend group. Snapchat even has Bitmoji Stories that imagine complete animated stories that you can watch, starring yourself.
1.7 billion Bitmojis later, even as TikTok dominates social mindshare, Snap reports that 85% of Gen Zers living in the U.S. have created their own Bitmoji avatar, and 250 million people use them every day. Even as Snap continues facing challenges around revenue and selling ads, Bitmoji remain key to almost every touchpoint of its product, as it has “a profound impact on Snapchat user retention and engagement,” says Snap’s VP of product Jack Brody.
And now, Bitmojis are getting a major redesign.
Bitmojis have historically lived two lives: one as 2D cartoons, and another as static, 3D avatars that were first introduced in 2018 and later became Snap profile pictures in 2021.
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