Facebook talks about its cool new feature which lets users upload videos as their profile pictures as a natural ‘evolution’ process, but Twitter was in on that until 2012. But unlike the GIF images you could have as your avatar on the micro-blogging site, Facebook actually allows you to post a 7-second looping video as your placeholder.
People visit Facebook profiles over 4 billion times daily, and first impressions count. So not only is the company introducing video profile pictures, it’s also enabling users to show their support for causes, let friends know they’re on vacation or post a throwback snap, for a preset temporary period. The additions are presently out for the social network’s mobile app for iOS.
Those who have received the update can elect to change their photo, which now sits at the center of the application, to an animated one by selecting ‘Take a New Profile Video’ or simply uploading a clip. As we mentioned above, these may only be 7 seconds long. Facebook boasts that 26 million folks have used its Celebrate Pride filter, and many in India switched their pictures to show support for Digital India recently.
Also see: Facebook clears the air on Digital India profile picture controversy
Seeing how people seem to like expressing support for causes or campaigns on social media, the company has added the option offering users the chance to temporarily swap their image for another one of their choosing. After a preset amount of time, it reverts back to the original portrait automatically. Another big tweak to the mobile app is better control over the information displayed on profiles.
A short Bio section is visible within which public details like work or education can be included. Users may also pick 5 images to be highlighted as Featured Photos at the top of their profile. At the time of writing this post, video profile pictures was only available to Facebook users (with an iPhone) in the UK and California since it’s still being tested.