Instagram today announced the introduction of a new dynamic profile photo feature that allows users to display both their profile photo and avatar. The change is that before this update, you had to choose between displaying a profile picture or your avatar, but now, you can toggle between the two.
Meta introduced avatars to Instagram almost a year ago, and is now working to make them more relevant within the app by adding the feature profile picture dynamic. The company initially launched the avatars in 2020 and has been continually updating them ever since on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
What makes it unique is that you can swipe on your profile picture to move from one to the other, giving you the ability to alternate as much as you want. Important to clarify that the update has been released silently, so you may not even know that you have this option.
The Instagram tweet about the new option of avatar shows an example of a user who has changed their original profile picture to an avatar with blue hair in a bow, and the avatar is waving at you.
How to create an avatar on Instagram and add it to your profile picture
If you haven’t created an avatar yet, setting up your avatar profile photo will require a few extra steps. This is what you have to do:
- Go to your Instagram profile
- Open the “Edit profile” option
- Tap the circle next to your profile photo or tap “Edit photo or avatar”
- Select “Create avatar”
Once this is done, you will access the avatar editor, where you can select from skin tone and hair color to clothing. After you’ve created the Instagram version of yourself, you can add it to your profile picture. You just have to press the “Edit profile” button under your biography and touch the photo of your avatar.
From there, a popup window that will ask you if you want to add your avatar to your profile picture. By touching the option you can choose between six different poses and 12 background colors before setting the photo of profile of your avatar When you’re done, tap the “Done” button in the top right corner.
Your profile will change from one image to another when you or someone who visits your page swipe left or right on your photo. When they do, your avatar will appear and greet you.
The launch of this new dynamic profile photo feature comes a few days after Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said the social network will look to make photos more important in 2023 and it looks like it’s already started.
