Facebook adds new AI features, animated profile photos, and backgrounds for text posts

Source: TechCrunch

Facebook announced new AI-powered features on Tuesday designed to let users express themselves in more playful ways across the platform. The updates include animated profile pictures, photo-restyling tools for Stories and Memories, and the ability to add animated backgrounds to text posts.

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The new animated profile picture feature applies motion effects to static photos, making the subject appear to be waving, making a heart shape, or wearing a virtual party hat. To achieve the best results, Facebook recommends using a clear photo of a single person facing the camera. Photos can be pulled directly from a user’s camera roll or from images already on the platform. The company also plans to add more animation options throughout the year.

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After uploading a photo to Stories or selecting a Memory to share, users can tap Restyle and either enter a text-based prompt or select from preset themes, including anime, illustrated, glowy, ethereal, and more. There are also options to adjust moods, lighting, and colors, and to swap in new backdrops such as a beach or a cityscape.

​To spice up text posts, Facebook is also gradually rolling out animated backgrounds. By clicking on the new rainbow “A” icon, users can choose from a variety of still and animated scenes, such as falling leaves or rolling ocean waves, to make their posts stand out in the feed. The company says that seasonal backgrounds are coming soon.

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Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/facebook-adds-new-ai-features-animated-profile-photos-and-backgrounds-for-text-posts/

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This is all so incredibly childish and wasteful of both electricity and water.

Almost all consumer-oriented AI is like this.

AI tools so "playful" childish adults can pretend to create poems, stories, pictures, video and music.

Keep them busy playing with AI, and maybe they won't notice all the harm done by AI, and the way AI bros are accumulating power and wealth.