WhatsApp Is Killing Avatars and Honestly Nobody Will Miss Them

Avatars were added to WhatsApp as a way for users to make a digital version of themselves. Users could personalise the way their hair, clothes and attire looked and use it as a profile picture, much like on Snapchat. But after trying to make it popular for a few years, WhatsApp is pulling the plug on the whole thing.

WhatsApp Avatars are Going Away

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is already removing Avatars on both iPhones and Android. When users go to the app settings, they may notice that the section has been completely removed. However, those who still have it are seeing a warning message saying they can no longer edit their characters.

WhatsApp Avatars feature is going away pop up — Image Credit: WABetaInfo

There is no exact data for when it will be fully gone, but it is expected to disappear for everyone in the course of coming weeks. As for what will happen to the stickers, the existing ones will stay, but users will no longer be able to make new stickers.

In case you're wondering why the feature is going away, while WhatsApp did not comment on the same, it's believed to be due to the feature not being popular enough. For those unaware, Avatars were added to WhatsApp in 2022 for users to "Express themselves" better. These were similar to Snapchat's Bitmoji and were fueled by Meta's initial Metaverse strategy.

Even though Meta has added lots of new clothes and styles over the years to make Avatars better, most people apparently didn't care about them. Personally, apart from setting up my WhatsApp Avatar ages ago, I haven't gotten around to customising it or tinkering with it much, which may be the case with most users. So, due to the inherently low number of users, WhatsApp probably decided it's not worth keeping the feature around anymore and focus on something else.

The platform has been on a roll recently, testing features like a native native WhatsApp Encrypted Cloud Storage Backups and Notification Bubbles for Android. WhatsApp will soon get a Plus tier with more features like Premium Stickers, Themes and more.