Animated emoji on iPhone
On iPhone, Apple’s animated characters are Memoji: in Messages you can record one that copies your facial expressions and your voice. To put animated emoji on a photo, use the Animated emoji pack in Tada and save the photo as a Live Photo.
Send an animated Memoji in Messages
- Open Messages and go to a conversation.
- Tap the Add button, then tap Memoji. You may have to swipe up to find it.
- Swipe and tap to choose a Memoji. To make a new one, tap the Add Memoji button, choose skin, hairstyle and the other features, then tap Done.
- Tap the Record button and talk. Your Memoji follows your facial expressions and records your voice. Tap the Recording button to stop.
- Tap Replay to check it, then tap the Send Recording button.
Animated Memoji work on supported iPhone models, and a recording can be up to 30 seconds, according to Apple.
Each Memoji also becomes a sticker pack in your emoji keyboard, with a range of poses and expressions. You can send one as a sticker or drag it onto a message bubble in the conversation.
Animated emoji on a photo, with Tada
Memoji stay in your messages. To put moving emoji on a photo from your camera roll, Tada has an Animated emoji pack with 48 emoji that move.
- Open Tada, tap Add effects and pick a photo.
- Pick Animated emoji. In about a second a set is placed on the person. Tap the dice (Shuffle) for another set.
- Drag, pinch or turn an emoji to fix it, or drag it to the bin to remove it.
- Tap Save. The photo goes to Photos as a Live Photo with the emoji moving. Touch and hold it to play it, or send it in Messages.
Animated emoji is one of the Pro packs. For still emoji on a photo, the Photos app works too: see how to add emoji to a photo.
More ways to make a photo playful
- The free Classic pack has hearts, stars, sparkles, a rainbow, a sun and a moon, and they move in the Live Photo too.
- Speech bubbles and Doodles (an arrow, a bolt, a heartbeat, a squiggle) are free packs as well.
- Draw your own: with Draw and My lines, the lines you draw on the photo wiggle like a hand-drawn cartoon.
For more ideas, see cute photo edits.
Questions
What are animated emoji on iPhone?
The animated characters built into iPhone are Memoji. In Messages, on supported models, you can record a Memoji message that follows your facial expressions and uses your voice.
Can I add animated emoji to a photo?
Yes, with Tada. Tap Add effects, pick the photo, choose the Animated emoji pack and tap Save. The photo goes to Photos as a Live Photo with the emoji moving.
Is the Animated emoji pack free?
No, it is a Pro pack. Tada Pro is $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, and the yearly plan starts with 7 days free. The free packs, like Classic, cost nothing.
How long can an animated Memoji be?
Apple says you can record for up to 30 seconds.
Sources: Apple Support: Create and send Memoji in Messages on iPhone · Apple Support: Use Memoji on your iPhone or iPad Pro · Apple Support: Send stickers in Messages on iPhone