APP
OF THE
DAY

Looking to upgrade your avatar? Tap to see a brand-new style.

Bitmoji

Your personal emoji

View

If there’s an end to all the fun you can have with the Bitmoji app, we haven’t found it yet.

Bitmoji have been around longer than you might think: They were technically born all the way back in 2007 on a website called Bitstrips. But in the years since—thanks to catching on with Facebook and now Snapchat—Bitmoji have remained a hilarious and ever-updating way to turn yourself into a meme-able customized cartoon. Because sometimes your feelings can only be conveyed by pasting your animated face inside an avocado.

Now Bitmoji offers more ways than ever to make sure you and your avatar are perfectly matched.

The new Bitmoji Deluxe offers more hairstyle options than ever.

Earlier this year, the app introduced Bitmoji Deluxe, a third style of avatar that accompanies the existing Bitmoji Classic and Bitstrips. Bitmoji Deluxe is all about customization, offering more choices than ever: more hairstyles, more skin tones, more facial features, more accessories. Users are no longer asked to choose a gender, and the update similarly eliminates gendered body types and accessories. Start the process by taking a selfie, which you can reference throughout the creation process. Switch between the three styles anytime by navigating to the app’s settings.

As always, activating your Bitmoji keyboard requires a little under-the-hood tinkering. To turn it on, open Settings and go to Bitmoji. From there, tap Keyboards, then turn on Bitmoji and Allow Full Access. Once activated, your Bitmoji keyboard will be available via the globe icon, usually located at the bottom left of your screen. Bitmoji is specially integrated with such apps as Messages, Snapchat, and Slack. Even if you’re not using one of those apps, your face on a cartoon kitten is merely a copy-and-paste away.

Hmm, looks like someone’s late.

One could argue that Bitmoji are more than just a silly method of communicating in shorthand. They offer a version of face-to-face communication—a way to convey emotions and expressions through a digitized version of yourself. One could also argue that they’re just hilarious. For the record, we’re going with both.