How to Use Filters and Stickers in FaceTime
- You can add filters, stickers, and text boxes to your FaceTime call by tapping your camera feed.
- There are over a dozen FaceTime filters, which can turn you black-and-white, make the video look like it's coming from an old camcorder, and more.
- You can also turn yourself into a Memoji and blur your background.
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FaceTime has gotten a lot of big updates over the past few years. But if you're a fan of other video-calling apps like Zoom, the best of these updates is probably the debut of filters.
The FaceTime app on your iPhone and iPad offers all sorts of filters and stickers that you can use to spice up your calls. Here's how to find them.
Note: You'll need to be running either at least iOS 12 on your iPhone or iPadOS 13 on your iPad to use filters. If you've updated your device at any point in the last two years, you should be fine here.
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How to use filters in FaceTime
When you make a FaceTime call, you get to see a preview of what your camera looks like in the bottom-right corner. Tap this preview to make it bigger and reveal the filter options.
First, you can tap the icon in the top-left corner of the preview to blur your background. You can't control how strong the blur is, but it's pretty accurate when it comes to separating you from the background.
You'll find the rest of the filters by tapping the star icon in the bottom-left. This will open a toolbar that you can use to pick what kind of filter or sticker you want.
- If you're on an iPhone or iPad with a "TrueDepth" camera, the first icon will let you turn yourself into a Memoji — either a default one, or one that you designed yourself.
- Tap the icon that looks like three colored circles to open the Filters page. There are about 20 different filters you can put on your video, from Comic Book to Watercolor to Noir. Tap on any filter to activate it, and tap Original at the start of the list to turn it off.
- Tap the Aa icon to add text to your video, and the red squiggle to add an animated "drawing" sticker.
- The rest of the options will differ depending on what apps you have installed, but they all let you add more stickers to your video. Just tap a sticker to add it, then drag it anywhere you want.
You can change the size of your stickers by pinching or spreading your fingers on them, just like you would do to zoom on a photo. Once you've added a sticker, the only way to get rid of it is by either dragging it off screen or shrinking it so small that it can't be seen.
William Antonelli
Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews
William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at wantonelli@insider.com. Read more Read lessncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnpJqwqXvFmpqerJmism6yyKWrnqqj