TikTok's New Feature Lets You Customize an Avatar to Feature in Your Videos

TikTok, a short-form video hosting service, will now allow users to create and customize animated avatars to add to their videos.

The new feature is named TikTok Avatars, and it is similar to Snapchat's Bitmoji and Apple's Memoji.

TikTok's Avatar Feature

TikTok users can customize the look of their avatar so it will look like them. They can change their appearance, clothing, and add accessories like piercings, necklaces, and more, according to TechCrunch.

The app will have ready-made templates that can be adjusted, or you can start from scratch to make a unique avatar for your account.

Once the avatar is ready, users can use them in their videos, with the ability to add voice effects or even reactions.

Similar to Apple's Memoji, TikTok users can record videos in which their avatar copies their facial expressions and gestures.

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The voice effects will give a new voice to the avatar, and users can select a voice style and speak into the microphone. Users can even try out different voice styles and select the one that they prefer, according to Social Media Today.

Users can even remove the voice effect if they wish to. Once satisfied with the result, users can begin recording videos. When a video is recorded, it can be an avatar, and it will mimic how users move and follow their gestures.

Miniature Avatar Feature

TikTok also has a Miniature Avatar option where users can select an avatar and add it to their video. Users can adjust the size of the miniature avatar and place it on their screen.

Users also have the option to change their miniature avatar's reactions by selecting different expressions displayed on their screen.

TikTok stated that it would start to improve avatars to make sure that all users will be represented. The social media company added that it wants to look to creators for feedback and review comments from its community.

Together with the feedback for its users, TikTok is working with its Creator Diversity Collective to make sure that the feature is inclusive.

In a blog post, the social media app said that the new avatar feature would allow users to showcase their creativity and give them a platform for self-expression.

The new avatar feature is the same as the Bitmoji feature of Snapchat, which was first introduced in 2016 and has been updated over the past couple of years. Snapchat has since added Bitmoji TV, and it gave users the ability to play their Bitmoji in third-party games.

The TikTok Avatar feature can also be compared to Meta's Avatars, which were its response to Snapchat's Bitmojis.

Meta recently added its avatars to Instagram and launched updated avatars on Facebook and Messenger. The social media giant also now allows users to bring the same avatar across all Meta platforms, according to The Verge.

Even though the avatars are not a new thing, the addition of this feature on TikTok will give users a new way to create content on the app.

Aside from being a new way to express yourself and show your creative side, the avatar feature could also be useful for users who do not want to show their faces online and keep their appearance private.