Snapchat users are once again frustrated with an update to the social media platform. This time it involves the once delightful, now disquieting Bitmoji. Last week, Snapchat’s cartoon avatars underwent a makeover that startled users, as part of the company’s effort to bring Bitmoji further into 3D.
“The new avatar style improves characteristics like hair texture, face shading and body proportions. Your Bitmoji can now have a bolder smile, a more astonished face when they’re surprised, and can express even the most subtle and nuanced emotions,” the company said in a press release.
But the result is unnaturally long arms and more angular, unnerving faces. As one X user wrote, “The Bitmoji has evolved into something horrifying and unsettling snapchat needs to revise.” Another captioned a before and after of their Bitmoji, “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY BITMOJI??????”
Earlier this year Snapchat users were outraged with Snapchat’s My AI chat bot‘s integration into their Chat feeds.
Snapchat first integrated Bitmoji into the platform in 2016, and the avatars have since become integral to the user experience. Much of the frustration with the update lies in that Bitmoji is the representation of the self on Snapchat. One user tweeted, “can they please change Bitmoji back to what it used to look like 😭😭 i look hideous.”
Another said, “I don’t associate myself with my Bitmoji anymore.”
Other users don’t mind the change. One wrote, “Low-key my bitmoji is looking cute af.”
As with any update to a social media platform, users are getting nostalgic for the good old days of Snapchat and the original Bitmoji that hadn’t existed long before this update. In a TikTok that’s garnered more than 2.8 million views and 320,000 likes @princense0 captioned a video of old Bitmojis with, “I miss the old 2D Bitmojis.” The “I miss the old Kanye” snippet of “I love Kanye” soundtracks the video.
