Facebook Profile Pictures Can Now Be Animated with AI
Meta has announced that Facebook profile pictures can now be brought to life via its AI technology. Other features include image restyling for Stories and Memories, while text posts can now have animated backgrounds.
Profile Picture
Turning still photos into short video clips has definitely been a trend in big tech recently; Facebook is now leaning into it.
“You can now animate your profile picture, turning a still photo into a playful animation in seconds,” Meta says. “Choose from preset animations — like natural, party hat, confetti, wave, and heart — to bring your profile picture to life depending on how you’re feeling. We’ll add more animation options throughout the year so you can celebrate and express yourself during seasonal moments and special events.”
For the best results, Facebook recommends that the profile photo show a single person facing the camera and not holding any objects. “You can select photos to animate directly from your camera roll or choose photos you’ve already uploaded to Facebook. Once a photo is animated, you can share it to your Feed and view it on your profile,” Meta adds.
Restyling Stories and Memories
Facebook is also expanding creative tools for Stories and Memories through a feature called Restyle, which uses Meta AI to modify the appearance of photos.
After selecting a photo, users can either enter a text prompt describing the desired changes or choose from preset styles such as anime, illustrated, glowy, ethereal, or low-poly. Additional controls allow users to adjust lighting, colors, and mood, as well as replace backgrounds with scenes like beaches or cityscapes.
Animating Text Posts
Facebook statuses have changed a lot since the platform began gaining popularity in the late 2000s. It’s common now to see cartoonish background behind a text post. Now those backgrounds can be animated.
“When you’re creating a new text post in Feed, tap the rainbow A icon to select from multiple still and animated backgrounds like falling leaves or ocean waves. We’ll also introduce seasonal backgrounds in the future so your posts can feel timely, festive, and a little more fun,” says Meta.
The Verge notes that while Facebook is a massive platform (two billion daily active users), it is not as culturally relevant as Meta’s other popular platform, Instagram. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to “get back to some OG Facebook”. As part of that, Facebook added a “friends” tab, which is a chronological friend-only feed.
Image credits: Meta
