To get Bitmoji stickers on your iPhone keyboard in 2026, install Snapchat, link your Bitmoji to it, then go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, tap Snapchat under Third-Party Keyboards, and turn on Allow Full Access. After that, tap the globe or emoji key while you type to switch to your Bitmoji stickers.
The Bitmoji keyboard now comes from Snapchat because Snap retired the standalone Bitmoji app. Snapchat’s notice about the Bitmoji app says the app stopped being available on June 30, 2026, and that Bitmoji stickers and the keyboard continue in Snapchat through its keyboard extension and its iMessage extension. These steps cover iOS 26 as of October 2026. The keyboard menu path is the same on iOS 17 and iOS 18. Snapchat itself requires iOS 15 or later.
What Happened to the Bitmoji App
For about ten years, Bitmoji was its own app with its own keyboard, called Bitmoji in the iPhone keyboard list.
That app is gone. Snap moved Bitmoji into Snapchat, where your avatar, outfits, and stickers now live. In September 2025, Snap announced a Snapchat Keyboard and a Snapchat app for iMessage that bring its sticker library, including your Bitmoji stickers, into other apps. Those are the two ways to send Bitmoji outside Snapchat today.
What this means for you:
- You need the Snapchat app, not the Bitmoji app, to get Bitmoji stickers on your keyboard.
- The keyboard you add in Settings is the Snapchat keyboard. It shows your Bitmoji stickers.
- If you still see Bitmoji in your keyboard list, it’s the old keyboard and can be removed.
Before You Start: Get Snapchat and Link Your Bitmoji
The keyboard can only show stickers of your avatar if your Bitmoji is attached to your Snapchat account.
- Open the App Store, search for Snapchat, and tap Get. The app installs on your Home Screen.
- Open Snapchat and sign up or log in.
- If you used the Bitmoji app before, tap Link Existing Avatar when Snapchat offers it during sign-up. Your existing Bitmoji carries over.
- If you skipped that screen, open Snapchat and follow the Bitmoji prompt on the Camera screen to finish linking.
To check that it worked, look at the top-left corner of the Snapchat camera. If you see your cartoon avatar there, your Bitmoji is linked. If you never had a Bitmoji, tap that corner icon and create one first.
Add the Bitmoji Keyboard on iPhone
Snapchat may walk you through keyboard setup from its own settings. If it doesn’t, or you skipped it, add the keyboard yourself:
- Open the Settings app (the gray gear icon).
- Scroll down and tap General.
- Tap Keyboard. You’ll see keyboard options such as Auto-Correction and Predictive Text.
- Tap Keyboards at the top of the screen. A list of the keyboards you already use appears, usually English and Emoji.
- Tap Add New Keyboard. The list of available keyboards opens, with language keyboards at the bottom and a Third-Party Keyboards section at the top.
- Under Third-Party Keyboards, tap Snapchat. You return to your keyboard list, and Snapchat now appears in it.
- Tap Snapchat in your keyboard list. Its settings page opens.
- Turn on Allow Full Access. A warning appears explaining that full-access keyboards can send what you type to the developer.
- Tap Allow. The switch turns green, and the keyboard can now load your stickers.
If Snapchat isn’t listed under Third-Party Keyboards in step 6, update Snapchat from the App Store and open it once, then try again.
Why Full Access is needed
iPhone keyboards from other companies run with tight limits unless you turn on Full Access. Apple’s documentation on open access for custom keyboards explains that without it, a keyboard has no network access and can’t share data with its main app. The Bitmoji stickers live in your Snapchat account, so the keyboard needs that access to load them.
The tradeoff is that a full-access keyboard is technically able to send what you type to its developer. That’s the reason for Apple’s warning. Your iPhone always switches to Apple’s own keyboard for password fields, so passwords aren’t typed with a third-party keyboard. If you’d rather not grant Full Access at all, use the Messages method below, which doesn’t need it.
Use the Keyboard to Send a Bitmoji
- Open Messages (or another app you type in, such as WhatsApp or Instagram) and open a conversation.
- Tap the text field so the keyboard appears.
- Tap the globe key (or the emoji key, if you only have one other keyboard) in the bottom-left corner. Keep tapping until the Snapchat keyboard appears.
- Browse or search the stickers, then tap the Bitmoji you want.
- If the app doesn’t insert it on its own, touch and hold the text field, tap Paste, then send.
A quicker way to switch is to touch and hold the globe key. A list of every keyboard you’ve added pops up, and you can slide to Snapchat to jump straight to it. Do the same thing to get back to your regular keyboard.
Some apps handle stickers differently. In apps that don’t support stickers, your Bitmoji may arrive as a plain image, and some apps compress it, so it can look a little blurrier than it did on your screen.
Send Bitmoji From the Messages App Instead
If you mainly send Bitmoji in iMessage, the Snapchat iMessage app is often easier than switching keyboards, and it doesn’t need Full Access.
- Open Messages and open a conversation.
- Tap the + button to the left of the text field. A list of iMessage apps appears.
- Tap More if you don’t see Snapchat, then tap Snapchat.
- Pick a Bitmoji sticker. Tap it to add it to your message, or touch and drag it onto a message bubble to stick it there.
If you plan to use it often, drag Snapchat higher in that list so it shows up without tapping More.
Remove the Old Bitmoji Keyboard
If you set up Bitmoji years ago, the old keyboard may still be on your phone. Since the Bitmoji app stopped working, it can show a blank screen or a sign-in message instead of stickers. Remove it so it doesn’t get in the way when you tap the globe key.
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
- Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
- Tap the red minus button next to Bitmoji, then tap Delete.
- Tap Done.
Once your Bitmoji is linked to Snapchat, you can also delete the Bitmoji app from your Home Screen. Touch and hold the icon, tap Remove App, then Delete App.
If the Bitmoji Keyboard Doesn’t Work
- The keyboard is blank or says to log in. Open Snapchat and confirm you’re signed in to the account your Bitmoji is linked to. Then go back to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Snapchat and turn Allow Full Access off and on again.
- Stickers show a generic character instead of you. Your Bitmoji isn’t linked to your Snapchat account. Follow the linking steps at the top of this guide.
- The keyboard doesn’t appear when you tap the globe key. Check that Snapchat is in your keyboard list. If you have many keyboards, touch and hold the globe key and pick Snapchat from the list.
- The keyboard disappears in some fields. That’s expected. Your iPhone switches to Apple’s keyboard in password fields and number pads, and some apps block third-party keyboards.
- You only see “Bitmoji,” not “Snapchat,” in Add New Keyboard. That’s the old app’s keyboard. Update or install Snapchat, open it once, and check again.
- Stickers stopped loading after an update. Close the app you’re typing in and open it again. If that doesn’t help, update Snapchat from the App Store and restart your iPhone.
If you’re adjusting your other keyboard settings while you’re in there, our guide to changing iPhone keyboard settings like Auto-Correction covers the rest of that menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still download the Bitmoji app?
No. Snap retired the standalone Bitmoji app on June 30, 2026. Bitmoji stickers, outfits, and the keyboard are now part of Snapchat.
Do I need a Snapchat account to use Bitmoji on my keyboard?
Yes. Your Bitmoji is stored in your Snapchat account, and the keyboard and iMessage app both come from Snapchat. You don’t have to post or chat on Snapchat to use the stickers, though.
Is it safe to allow Full Access?
It’s a tradeoff, explained in “Why Full Access is needed” above. Passwords always use Apple’s keyboard. If you’d rather not allow it, use the Snapchat app inside Messages, which doesn’t need Full Access.
How do I change what my Bitmoji looks like?
You now edit your avatar inside Snapchat, not in a Bitmoji app. Our guide on how to change your Bitmoji avatar on an iPhone has the steps, and your stickers update automatically after you save.
Is the Bitmoji keyboard the same as the emoji keyboard?
No. The emoji keyboard is built into your iPhone and sends standard emoji characters. The Bitmoji stickers come from Snapchat and show a cartoon version of you. If you want the regular emoji keyboard, see how to use emoji on an iPhone.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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