How to Create and Use Memoji in Supported iPhones and iPads

Apple in iOS 12 expanded its animated emoji from a dozen characters of Animoji, which are designed to mimic your facial expressions, to another customizable Animoji that you can choose its elements to look like you, called Memoji.

Memoji designed to do the same things that Animoji can do, mimicking your facial expressions to use them in videos, photos, or to communicate with your beloved ones. Apple in iOS 12 added the ability to use Animoji and Memoji in photos through Messages’s camera or during the live calling on FaceTime.

How to make a Memoji

Animoji is a feature designed to use in the Messages app, so creating your Memoji will be done within the Messages app.

• Launch the Messages app.

• Select a conversation.

• Tap on a little monkey icon from the Messages app bar which allows you to enter into the Animoji Messages app.

• Scroll to the right until you find a plus sign “+” icon tap it.

How to customize your Memoji

At the first step, you will come across to a blank face, it is allowed to be customized to seem like you. The Memoji first option is a skin tone, you can choose through a set of buttons and sliders that let you modify features and add options like freckles.

When you finish with skin tone tap on a label at the top to start with, which are ranging from Hairstyle, Head Shape, Eyes, Brows, Nose and Lips, Ears, Facial Hair, Eyewear, to Headwear.

During the modifying process your Memoji will interact directly with you to see how the features look like, sometimes, when you change a feature it could pause but you can continue to see the animation by tapping on the Memoji.

To create a Memoji, Apple provides iPhone users with many facial feature options, and accessories to choose from, enabling you to specify what sort of look fits you among the others.


If your Memoji is finished and you're satisfied, tap Done on the top right-hand corner.

You can make and save as many Memoji as you want, you can make other different Memojis for you, you can also create ones for your favorite celebrities, characters, friends, family, and more.

How to delete or edit a Memoji

You can edit your previous Memoji or delete it whenever you want.

• Launch the Messages app.

• Enter the conversation.

• Open up the Animmoji Messages app by tapping on a little monkey icon.

• When the Memoji selected in a frame, tap the three dots at the left-hand corner.

• Tap “Edit” to modify an already-created Memoji, tap “Delete” to get rid of it, or tap “Duplicate” to use it as a base to create another one.

Added Animoji features in iOS 12

Apple in iOS 12 added other capabilities to facial recognition, allowing Animoji and Memoji to mimic your tongue movement and your winks, all Animoji and Memoji have tongues, with a special touch like a glitter tongue for the unicorn, an articulated tongue for the robot, and a green tongue for the alien.

How to record a Memoji or Animoji video

Recording an Animoji video that can be sent to your beloved ones is done in the same way as in iOS 11.

Once you are in the Animoji Messages app, and an Animoji or a Memoji is selected, tap on the red record button to start recording a message, when you finish tap on the red stop button, to send your record tap on the blue up arrow.

Once the blue up arrow is taped the Animoji or Memoji recording message will send automatically to the person you're conversing with.

How to use an Animoji or Memoji as a sticker

If you don't want to send a full video but just a quick reaction you can use Animoji or Memoji as stickers, to do like that, just make your face in a desired statue, and instead of tapping on the red record button, tap on the Animoji or Memoji itself to capture a little screenshot that you can send by tapping on the blue up arrow.

If you want to use the previous Animoji or Memoji sticker to react with another message or to decorate a photo, press on the Animoji and drag it upwards the desired Messages conversation.

When you drag the sticker while it is attached to your finger you can use gestures to resize or rotate it until you get what you want.

How to use Animoji or Memoji in the Messages camera and FaceTime

Both Messages and FaceTime, By the introduction of iOS 12, gain new Effects camera that supports for Animoji and Memoji, allowing users to use Animoji or Memoji to make photos in Messages or to enjoy your friends and family during a FaceTime conversation.

How to use Animoji or Memoji to create photos in the Messages

• From the Home screen open the Messages app.

• Choose a conversation.

• beside the Messages chat bar tap on the Camera icon.

• Within the Camera interface in the bottom left corner tap on the star-shaped icon.

• Tap on the Animoji icon which is presented by a little monkey icon.

• You should choose an Animoji or Memoji and it will pop up to cover your face.

• When an Animoji is applied, above the Animoji menu tap on the small "X" to leave the Animoji interface. Your Animoji remains displayed with the ability to add other camera effects.

• When you put all the effects you want, tap on the photo button to take the photo that you can then edit or share.

Within the Messages app camera, you can add Animoji, stickers, shapes, filters, and text to your images.

How to use Animoji or Memoji to create photos in the FaceTime

• Launch the FaceTime app.

• Begin a FaceTime conversation.

• After the conversation has initiated tap on the star-shaped icon.

• Select an Animoji or Memoji, and tap on it, it will be shown over your face.

• Like the Messages Effects camera, tap on the “X” above the Animoji menu to apply the effects that you want while you're in the FaceTime call.

The Animoji or Memoji that you have selected will be seen by the other end person on the FaceTime, with all effects that you have applied on it, such as stickers, texts, filter, and all other camera effects.

Messages and FaceTime support Animoji and Memoji only with the front-facing camera that is built with TrueDepth camera system.

Animoji and Memoji compatibility

To create an Animoji or Memoji you need a device with a TrueDepth camera system, this technology started in 2017 with the iPhone X and extended to 2018’s iPhones and iPads, which are the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, 10-inch and the iPad Pro models.

If the aforementioned devices can be used to create or display Animoji or Memoji, the users on other models can still see them in photos created in Messages camera and in FaceTime call.


Data and images source: via Macrumors