iWorld
Facebook launches Avatars in India
NEW DELHI: Facebook today announced the launch of Avatars in India. With much of our social interaction these days are taking place online, it’s more important than ever to be able to express yourself personally on Facebook. Avatars will allow you to create a digital persona that’s uniquely representative of you and will enable you to share a range of emotions and expressions in a fun and personalised way.
Starting today, people in India will be able to make an Avatar, a cartoon-like version of themselves by choosing from a variety of faces, hairstyles and outfits that have been specially customised for India. They will also be able to use their Avatar in Facebook comments, stories, your profile picture and Facebook Messenger chat windows and can even share it on WhatsApp chats.
How to create your avatar:
Our Avatar creator enables people to customise how they want to represent themselves across many dimensions such as facial features, hair, and outfits (to name a few!). This creator can be accessed from Bookmarks in your FB app, as well as from the comment composer. It’s also easy to access the avatar creator from someone else’s avatar shared across Facebook.
To create your avatar, use your mobile device and go to the Facebook or Messenger comment composer, click on the “smiley” button, and then the sticker tab. Click “Create Your Avatar”! Or find the avatar creator in the Bookmarks section in your Facebook app. (Note: Avatar creation from Messenger is currently only available on Android, but will be rolled on iOS soon.)
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iWorld
WhatsApp tests ‘WhatsApp Plus’ paid subscription tier
€2.49 plan adds customisation tools, messaging and calls remain free.
MUMBAI: Your chats may soon get a glow-up at a small monthly price. WhatsApp is testing a new paid subscription tier called ‘WhatsApp Plus’, signalling a shift towards premium personalisation features while keeping its core services free. The feature is currently being rolled out to a limited set of Android beta users, with early reports from WABetaInfo indicating a price of €2.49 per month (approximately Rs 274). Meta has confirmed the test, stating that it is designed for users who want more control over how they customise and organise their app experience.
Importantly, the subscription remains optional. Core functionalities including messaging, voice calls and community features will continue to be available free of charge, ensuring that the platform’s primary use case remains unchanged.
Instead, WhatsApp Plus focuses on aesthetic and organisational upgrades. These include exclusive sticker packs, new themes, custom app icons and personalised notification tones. On the functional side, subscribers may be able to pin up to 20 chats significantly higher than the current limit of three along with access to custom chat lists and enhanced categorisation tools.
Industry observers suggest the offering is largely cosmetic. Social media consultant Matt Navarra noted that the features lean more towards visual and usability enhancements rather than altering the app’s core functionality.
While global pricing has not been finalised, the subscription is expected to remain a low-cost monthly plan, with reports indicating a possible one-month free trial for eligible users. The feature is still in beta, meaning the final set of offerings could evolve before a broader rollout. Support for iOS users is also anticipated in the coming weeks.
The move mirrors a broader trend in the social and messaging ecosystem, where platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have introduced similar subscription layers adding premium features without placing core services behind a paywall.
For WhatsApp, the strategy appears clear, keep the conversation free, but charge for a little extra flair around it.
