Ever had a friend send you a cartoon version of themselves animated by their real facial expressions over iMessage and wondered what this was. Apple decided to add the Memoji and Animoji feature to the iPhone X series of phones and new iOS versions beyond that
Then, when iOS 13 came out, it allowed older iPhones the ability to create Memojis and use the Memoji sticker feature. However, to use Animoji, your iPhone needs to have Face ID. This is because these phones use a TrueDepth camera for Face ID features and Animoji. These are the iPhone X models of phones and later.
If your phone supports Memoji andAnimoji, follow this guide to find out how to create them, how to use Memoji, and how to share them with friends.
Create Your Memoji in iMessage
To create your Memoji, head over to iMessage. Follow these steps to make your Memoji:
Open iMessage, then either create a new message or open up an existing conversation.
Look underneath the text field and look for the Animoji or Memoji sticker icons. Tap either one of them.
- Tap the blue plus sign icon on the left side. Or if you’ve never used or created a Memoji before, you may be prompted to create one.
- You will be taken to the Memoji creation screen.
Move your face so it’s visible to the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera. Your Memoji will be automatically altered to your features.
o through each creation option to change your Memoji however you like. Once you have it the way you want, tap on Done . You should see your Memoji as an option now either for Animoji or Memoji stickers.
Send Clips of Your Memoji With Animoji
While in iMessage, tap on the Animoji icon just below the text field. When it opens, you should see your created Memojis as well as some other emoji options you can use.
To create an Animoji, first, make sure your face can be seen by your iPhone’s camera.
Then, tap on the Red record button and you’ll have 30 seconds to create an Animoji. You can make facial expressions and speak to make one.
Once finished, you can either tap the red stop button or wait for the time to run out.
Then you can tap the blue up arrow to send your Animoji to the text conversation you’re in. If you want to replay your Animoji before sending it, tap the Replay button in the top left corner.
You can also save your Animoji if you want to share it with others or on other platforms. Once you’ve sent your Animoji, tap on it in your messages. Then, tap on the Blue share icon in the bottom left corner. You can tap on Save Video to save it to your camera roll, and from there you can post it wherever you wish.
How to Use Memoji Stickers
If you don’t have an iPhone X or later models, you might feel a little left out. Don’t worry, you can use Memojis if you update your iPhone to iOS 13. Any phone that supports iOS 13 and has an A9 chip or newer can use Memoji stickers.
First, open your iMessages and navigate to an existing conversation or create a new one. Under the text box, you should see the Memoji stickers icon .
Tap on this, and you can tap on the blue plus sign to create a Memoji. Or, you can choose from the other 3D emoji stickers available. Just tap on one and you can send it.
How to Use Memoji During FaceTime
Another way you can use your created Memoji is by replacing your face with it during FaceTime calls. Or you can use the other emojis as well. To use this feature, your iPhone needs to have a TrueDepth camera.
When you’re in a FaceTime call, tap on the Effects button. You will see the Memojis you can choose from. Tap on one and make sure the camera can see your face. You’ll automatically see your face change into your selected Memoji.
When you’re done with using the Memoji, tap the Close (X) button to stop using it.
How to Edit Your Memoji
Want to change a Memoji you’ve created? You have the option to edit any of them whenever you wish.
Go into iMessage and open a conversation. Tap on the Animoji or Memoji stickers icon and select the Memoji you wish to edit. Tap the Ellipses icon , and you’ll see the options to Edit , Duplicate , or Delete your Memoji.
Tap Edit to go to the Memoji creation screen where you can select whatever feature you want to change. Once you’ve made all the changes you wish to, tap on Done and it will save your edited Memoji.
If you want a copy of your Memoji, tap on Duplicate . You can edit this copy further and save the original one.
Finally, tap on Delete to get rid of the Memoji after you confirm you want to do so.
Use Your Memoji on Multiple Devices
If you want, you can use your Memoji on different Apple devices that support the feature. For example, if you have an iPad Pro, you can use the same Memoji there as you use on your iPhone.
Simply make sure that you are signed in to iCloud on the other devices with the same Apple ID that you created your original Memoji in. This way, the Memoji will be available across all devices logged into the same Apple ID. Also, make sure you have iCloud Drive turned on.
Then have fun making faces with your friends on every supported Apple device you own.
- How to Use Your iPhone as a USB Drive on Mac and PC
- How to Turn Off Password Suggestions on iPhone
- How to Accept Invite to Shared Album on iPhone
- How to Send Emails on iPhone
- iPhone Not Sending Emails? 10 Fixes to Try
Passcodes suck. They take a long time to type in, it’s easy to forget them and most people probably pick something really easy to guess, which hurts their security. This is why biometric unlock methods are so popular.
All but the most inexpensive smartphones now have fingerprint scanners built-in. One little touch and your phone unlocks, which is pretty convenient. But more devices are also now using facial recognition instead since screens are getting so large. Apple is no different and offers devices that use both of these technologies to secure them. Technologies that are officially known as Face ID and Touch ID.
But how do Face ID and fingerprint scans work?
What Are Face ID & Touch ID?
The obvious answer to this question is that Face ID is a face unlock system and Touch ID is a fingerprint unlock system. Job done. End of article. Right? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that because although lots of different companies use faces and fingerprints to unlock their devices, they don’t all work in the same way.
These two biometric systems are Apple’s proprietary solutions to the biometric problem. This matters because companies like Apple feel that their approach and technology are more secure than their competition. It matters because hackers and other security specialists have managed to fool systems like these in the past.
As you’d expect, there’s a race between the creators of biometric security sensors and those who want to defeat them. You must know how the sensors on your Apple device work and what their limitations are.
How Does Face ID & Touch ID Work?
Touch ID is Apple’s most mature biometric system and you’ll find it on certain models of iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Pros. Its sensors use the sapphire crystal as the button material. This is very hard and incredibly resistant to scratches, which is why high-end smartphone cameras also use sapphire lens covers.
When you place your finger on the button, a very high-resolution image is taken of your fingertip. A proprietary software algorithm then examines the image, transforming your fingerprint into pure math. This is then compared to the stored mathematical transformation of the fingerprint that was registered when Touch ID was set up. If they match, then the device unlocks.
Face ID works in a pretty smart way as well. Many devices use a normal camera for facial recognition. It compares the photo it has on record with the one you are presenting to unlock the device. The software that does the facial matching is quite sophisticated, but many of these cameras can’t tell the difference between a photo or a mask, so they can be fooled into unlocking.
Face ID, on the other hand, makes use of a specialized TrueDepth camera to create a very detailed depth map of your face. One with over 30 000 points. It combines this with an infrared image of your face to create a facial profile. The neural net machine learning hardware components of modern Apple mobile device processors make this level of sophistication possible.
So how secure are these technologies and are they good enough for you to trust?
General Biometric Security Flaws
First of all, some security vulnerabilities apply to biometric systems in general. The biggest problem with using an aspect of your biology to unlock something is that you can’t change it. If someone managed to make a perfect copy of your fingerprint or face, they could unlock anything. If someone figures out a password or passcode, just change it.
This sort of thing has happened in the past and the way that biometric sensors have got around it is by becoming more detailed and looking at multiple aspects of your biology. For example, finer details of your fingerprints or the presence of body heat. Those who want to defeat these systems have to get better at replicating your biology, which is impractical for the average hacker at a certain point.
The biggest weakness of biometric systems is a pretty simple one. Someone can simply take your finger or face and force you to unlock your device. That’s different from a password or code which you can “forget” or otherwise withhold. We’ll deal with this scenario at the end of the article.
How Secure Are Face ID & Touch ID?
This is a bit of a loaded question since that depends on what your definition of ‘secure’ is. Usually, the security of systems like these is expressed as the odds of someone randomly beating them. That’s the “brute force” method of cracking a digital lock. For Touch ID there’s only a 1 in 500,000 chance of someone’s fingerprint being similar enough to yours that Touch ID will be fooled.
Of course, that’s very different compared to someone making an impression of your fingerprint or creating fake ones from a scan. Then again, how likely that is to happen depends on who you are and if someone would be motivated to take this extreme path. If you’re a VIP who draws this sort of attention, you shouldn’t be using biometrics, since they aren’t secure enough at that risk level in our opinion.
Face ID is more secure from a brute force perspective according to Apple’s numbers. With a one-in-a-million chance of a random person looking enough like you. Identical twins are perhaps the exception here. So what about photographs or masks that replicate your face? Face ID has countermeasures for this. As mentioned above, photos won’t work since the camera can sense depth. It uses neural net technology to also mitigate against the use of masks.
There are no numbers to tell us how effective this is, but once again for the average user, no one is going to spend thousands or even millions of dollars creating technology to defeat Face ID. If you’re the president of a country, don’t use biometric locks.
Activating The iOS Biometric Killswitch
Now only one issue remains. What if someone is in a position to force you into unlocking your phone? They just have to point it at your face or put your finger on it, after all. If you think you may be entering this situation, you can simply click the on/off button five times and biometrics will be disabled in favor of a passcode.
On the iPhone 8 and up you need to squeeze the side button and either of the volume buttons. These methods could be different when you read this, so be sure you look up the biometric killswitch method for your specific iOS device.
In short: Face ID and Touch ID are plenty secure for most people, but not for people who need military-grade security. If you are however very paranoid, use a six-digit passcode instead.
- How to Fix Face ID With a Mask Not Working on iPhone?
- How to Use Face ID on iPhone With a Mask On (No Apple Watch Required)
- Is iPhone Face ID Safe To Use?
- Fix Apple Watch Charging Problems (All Models)
- How to Use Your iPhone as a USB Drive on Mac and PC
