How to Create an AR Filter Like Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok in 2025

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TL;DR:

• AR face filters are real-time visual effects placed over the person's face;
• These effects are based on a combination of face detection, face tracking, and rendering;
• To create AR face filters, clearly define your idea, select the right tech, design visual assets, test, and launch;
• Banuba is a solid choice for face filters because of accurate tracking, high-quality rendering, and cross-platform support.

What Is an AR Face Filter?

An AR face filter is a real-time visual effect that maps digital content (like makeup, 3D masks, or animations) onto a user’s face using the device’s camera. These filters rely on advanced technologies:

• face tracking and detection;
• computer vision;
• and artificial intelligence (AI).

Snapchat’s Pink Dog and other animal faces, TikTok’s Bold Glamour and beauty effect, or Instagram’s 3D masks like Gucci Beauty — what started as fun turned into business opportunities. 

AR filters enhance brand recognition, foster user interaction, and often go viral. They create personalized, shareable digital experiences that consumers love and want more of: 

• 4 in 10 shoppers are open to spending extra on products they can preview using augmented reality; 
• AR-driven marketing experiences hold users’ attention for about 75 seconds compared to 3-4 seconds in traditional banners.;
• 8 out of 10 companies that introduced AR lenses or filters noticed a measurable increase in brand recognition;

Over 85% of users actively exploring AR and VR are also involved in social shopping, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge in adoption.

How Do AR Filters Work? (Technology Behind the Magic)

At the core of every AR face filter is a set of algorithms that operates through a pipeline of technologies: 

• Face Detection: The camera identifies the user's face in the frame;
• Face Tracking: The software tracks facial landmarks (eyes, eyebrows, lips, jawlines, etc.), capturing subtle movements;
• Rendering Engine: Virtual effects are layered onto the tracked face in real time, responding to user movements and expressions.

Computer vision interprets what the camera sees by recognizing facial landmarks, detecting head orientation, and tracking facial movement frame by frame. This allows digital overlays to align precisely with the user’s face.

AI enhances this further by analyzing environmental context, like lighting conditions and skin tone, to dynamically adjust the filter for a more realistic and inclusive appearance. It also powers features like automatic face segmentation, emotion detection, and real-time beautification to deliver immersive and hyper-personalized AR experiences.

Different platforms use their own technology stacks to power AR filters:

• Meta Spark AR relied on its Visual Scripting engine and built-in AI face tracking that supports real-time 3D object placement, targeting basic to intermediate effects. Unfortunately, the studio was shut down on January 14, 2025;
• Snapchat filter technology and Lens Studio offer robust face detection and tracking, 3D mesh generation, and gesture recognition using its proprietary computer vision algorithms, making it ideal for complex, interactive experiences;
• TikTok’s Effect House combines lightweight AI with responsive rendering engines and supports effect layering, real-time transformations, and face segmentation for dynamic user effects across devices.

How to Create an AR Filter: Step-by-Step Guide

Here are the five steps to creating your AR filter: 

Step 1 — Define Your Concept 

Define your creative vision. What do you want the filter to achieve? Are you aiming to entertain, enhance beauty, promote a product or brand, or create a gamified experience? Your goal will shape everything that follows — from asset design to interaction mechanics.

Step 2 — Choose the Right AR Filter Technology 

If your objective is to publish filters on social platforms, tools like Lens Studio or Effect House are the way to go. But if you're building an AR experience within your own product, app, or campaign, you’ll need more flexibility.

This is where Banuba’s Face AR SDK comes in. It offers full control, cross-platform compatibility (iOS, Android, Web), and freedom from moderation queues and platform constraints. With Banuba, you own the experience and the technology.

Step 3 — Design Your Filter Assets

You’ll need 2D and 3D elements like textures, overlays, and animations. These assets form the core of the visual experience— sunglasses, makeup, virtual hats, or full character transformations.

Start by designing your filter elements in a tool like Blender or Maya for 3D models, or Photoshop and Figma for 2D textures. Ensure each asset aligns with facial landmarks (like eyes, cheeks, or lips) to move naturally with the user's expressions. Banuba provides facial mesh templates to help you place your graphics precisely.

Once assets are ready, import them into Banuba Studio, where you can assign animation triggers (like blinking, smiling, or head turns) and apply shaders or blending effects. 

Step 4 — Build and Test Your Filter

Banuba Studio enables developers and designers to preview their effects on different devices, test how they adapt to various face shapes and lighting conditions, and iterate quickly. This minimizes errors before launch and ensures a consistent user experience.

Step 5 — Integrate and Deploy

Once finalized, your AR filter can be embedded into your app or website via Banuba’s SDK. Integration is straightforward, and you can publish updates anytime without external approval. Built-in analytics help monitor engagement and performance.

Creating Filters Like Snapchat, Instagram, or TikTok: What’s Possible?

With the right tools, you can replicate or even surpass the creative possibilities offered by social media platforms. Here’s what you can build with Banuba:

• Face masks that morph into fantasy characters;
• Beauty filters that adjust to skin tone and lighting;
• Gesture-triggered effects for games and campaigns;
• Layered filters that combine multiple effects in real time;

Banuba’s Asset Store offers 900+ ready-to-use AR filters. These experiences can live inside your own app, not only on social media, giving you complete control over user interaction, monetization, and branding.

Why Choose Banuba for AR Filter Creation?

Banuba’s Face AR SDK offers advanced functionality that empowers brands and developers to deliver premium AR experiences:

• Patented face tracking with over 3,300 tracking points;
• Cross-device, cross-platform support;
• Beauty effects, gesture recognition, animated filters, 3D masks;
• Real-time rendering with low device resource usage;

Unlike Lens Studio and Effect House, which are tied to social media platforms, Banuba’s Face AR SDK gives you the freedom to deploy filters anywhere — your own mobile app, website, or custom platform. You won’t need to wait for moderation or adhere to platform restrictions.

Whereas social platforms limit monetization and branding flexibility, Banuba allows full control over user experience, revenue strategies, and visual identity. 

You can track usage with built-in analytics and integrate additional business tools without third-party approval. It’s a fully customizable solution designed for creators and companies who want complete ownership of their AR experiences.

“What impressed us most about Banuba’s Face AR SDK was how smooth and intuitive the filter creation process felt from day one. The face tracking is incredibly accurate — our 3D masks and animated effects aligned perfectly with users’ expressions, regardless of lighting or device type. We could import our own assets, add gesture-based interactions, and preview everything in real time. Unlike platform-bound tools, Banuba gave us the freedom to launch filters inside our own app, with full creative control and zero moderation delays." Leon Müller, CTO

For the conferencing app VROOM, using Banuba’s beautification filters resulted in 30% higher MAUs and 54% more active users. Clash of Streamers used Face AR SDK for transforming users’ selfies into AR avatars and received 4M+ installs and over 100k active players. You can explore more success stories here.

Best Practices and Tips for AR Filter Success

Not all filters go viral. Here are some tips for creating a successful and high-performing AR filter:

• Design filters with social shareability in mind. Think meme-worthy, trend-driven concepts that users want to share with friends or post in Stories;
• Ensure smooth performance across devices by optimizing texture sizes, minimizing heavy animations, and testing under different processing loads;
• Test filters with users of varying skin tones, face shapes, lighting environments, and camera qualities to avoid bias and improve usability;
• Consider adding interactive elements—like gesture or sound triggers—to increase engagement and make the experience feel dynamic;
• Create variants or seasonal updates to keep content fresh and relevant over time;
• Prioritize user privacy, especially if filters include image capture or facial analysis. Clearly disclose what data is used and why, and follow relevant data protection regulations (like GDPR).

Conclusion

With the right execution, an AR filter isn’t just a fun moment; it becomes a shareable experience, a touchpoint for storytelling, and a measurable path to conversion.

Banuba’s Face AR SDK gives you the creative and technical advances and freedom to craft these experiences on your own terms, free from third-party moderation queues or platform restrictions. 

Curious how it would work for your business? Request a demo and see Banuba’s Face AR SDK in action.

Reference List 

Banuba. (n.d.). 30% more MAUs and 54% more users: VRoom success story. https://www.banuba.com/blog/30-more-maus-and-54-more-users-vroom-success-story

Banuba. (n.d.). Clash of Streamers and NFT integration: Face AR SDK case. https://www.banuba.com/blog/clash-of-streamers-nft-face-ar-sdk-case

Banuba. (n.d.). Face AR SDK documentation. https://docs.banuba.com/face-ar-sdk/

Banuba. (n.d.). Face AR SDK: Getting started guide. https://docs.banuba.com/face-ar-sdk/effect_constructor/getting_started/getting_started

Banuba. (n.d.). Snapchat filter technology: What’s behind the curtain? https://www.banuba.com/blog/snapchat-filter-technology-whats-behind-the-curtain

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Banuba Asset Store. (n.d.). https://assetstore.banuba.net/

Effect House. (n.d.). TikTok Effect House. https://effecthouse.tiktok.com/

Infosys BPM. (2023, August 10). Blurring the lines between physical and online shopping: Leverage technology to increase sales. https://www.infosysbpm.com/blogs/digital-business-services/blurring-the-lines-between-physical-online-shopping-leverage-technology-to-increase-sales-nwid.html

Meta Spark. (2023, April 21). Meta Spark announcement. https://spark.meta.com/blog/meta-spark-announcement/

Poplar Studio. (2022, October 7). AR analytics: Measuring the success of your AR eCommerce campaign. https://poplar.studio/blog/ar-analytics-measuring-the-success-of-your-ar-ecommerce-campaign/

Rock Paper Reality. (n.d.). Using augmented reality in social media to improve customer engagement. https://rockpaperreality.com/insights/ar-use-cases/using-augmented-reality-in-social-media-to-improve-customer-engagement/

Snap Inc. (n.d.). Lens Studio by Snapchat. https://ar.snap.com/lens-studio

Statista. (2023). Number of social network augmented reality (AR) users in the United States from 2019 to 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1035436/united-states-social-network-ar-users/

Statista. (2024). Number of mobile augmented reality (AR) users worldwide from 2019 to 2027. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1098630/global-mobile-augmented-reality-ar-users/

Stories AR. (n.d.). Statistics that will change how you think about eCommerce augmented reality. https://stories-ar.com/eng/statistics-that-will-change-how-you-think-about-ecommerce-augmented-reality

Yahoo & dentsu. (2022). Augmentality Shift: Global report. https://downloads.ctfassets.net/inb32lme5009/6VsPlX04jWZxPSCkuANnzV/f46b28a5469e972feb4db665807ccdae/AugmentalityShift_Global_2022.pdf