Facebook is working on Avatars, a feature akin to Snapchat's Bitmoji that allows users to create personalized avatars and use them in Messenger, private chats
Context & Ripple Effects
Snapchat spent years turning Bitmoji into a daily-use identity layer — by 2017 it was even building iOS and Android homescreen widgets out of Bitmoji chat shortcuts — making cartoon self-expression a proven engagement hook inside messaging. This report shows Facebook answering in kind: an internal Avatars effort aimed at Messenger and private chats, the exact surface where Bitmoji stickers thrive.
The move matters because Facebook's scale turns a copycat feature into a distribution problem for Snap: once confirmed, Avatars rolled out to Australian users in 2019 via look-alike stickers in Messenger and News Feed comments, then reached the US in 2020 — validating that this 2018 report was the start of a multi-year platform commitment.
First-order effects
- Messenger users gain a native way to create personalized look-alike stickers without installing Snapchat's Bitmoji app, removing one of the few reasons to keep Snap's app installed alongside Facebook's.
- Snapchat loses exclusivity over the avatar-sticker format in Western messaging, forcing it to defend a differentiator it had already monetized through widgets and keyboard reach.
Second-order effects
- Snap responds by pushing past static avatars — within months of Avatars' launch it began testing Cameos, selfie-swapped looping videos, an attempt to leapfrog sticker-style avatars rather than match them.
- TikTok validates the format as table stakes, announcing TikTok Avatars with voice effects in 2022, so avatar creation becomes a checklist feature every major social app must ship.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, avatars stop being a sticker gimmick and become portable user identity: Meta's later extension of avatars to Instagram and Messenger video calls points toward a single cartoon self spanning feeds, chats, and calls — groundwork for whatever persistent virtual presence the company pursues post-rebrand.
The trend: Personalized avatar systems are consolidating into default identity infrastructure across social platforms, with each major app shipping its own version of what Bitmoji pioneered.