Apple has snuck a fresh new feature into macOS Monterey that some people seem to have missed. If you haven’t noticed that animated Memojis are now hiding in your account preferences, you’re in for a treat.
With Apple’s new profile picture options, you no longer need to settle for boring and lifeless still images. Let’s discuss how to change your user profile picture to something with a little more flair.
Set an Animated Memoji Profile Picture in macOS
With the release of macOS Monterey, Apple added several new profile picture groups, including regular emojis and monograms, but the animated Memojis are by far the most exciting addition.
You can choose or create your own Memoji profile picture in macOS using these steps:
- Navigate to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
- Unlock the security padlock if you wish to modify an account other than the one currently logged in.
- Select the account whose profile picture you wish to change.
- Click the current profile picture in the main preferences window.
- Select Memoji in the side menu.
- Choose a Memoji, Pose, and Style or create your own character by clicking the plus (+) button.
- Adjust your Memoji to the desired size with the slider in the bottom left corner.
- Click Save when done.
If you want to view your Memoji without logging out completely, you can lock your screen using Control + Cmd + Q or from the Apple menu. Your little animated friend only holds the pose you choose and the size you set briefly before reverting back to its default position. Memojis do, however, react to your cursor when you touch them with it.
If you don’t like the default Memojis on offer, you can make your own. The character creation tool is recklessly detailed and allows you to edit hair, eyes, nose, mouth, skin color, accessories, outfit, and more. With time and inspiration, you could birth some seriously questionable creations.
What’s the Point of an Animated Memoji?
Memojis in macOS aren’t revolutionary, but they do add a certain level of style to the operating system. From your account preferences, you can easily change your profile picture or construct your own animated creation. The choice is yours.