Are your contacts unable to see your profile picture on WhatsApp? There could be several reasons for a missing WhatsApp profile photo. You might have changed profile photo privacy settings, accidentally blocked a user, or there could be a bug in the app. Whatever the cause, this tutorial will help you restore the missing WhatsApp profile picture.
1. Restart Your Phone
Restart your Android phone or iPhone to fix any temporary issue or bug that could be causing the profile picture to disappear. To restart your phone, simply turn it off and then turn it on again. If all goes well, the profile photo should be restored after the restart.
Tip: learn how to hard reset your iPhone.
2. Check Profile Picture Privacy Settings
WhatsApp offers a privacy setting that lets you decide who can see your profile picture. You might have accidentally changed the setting to “Nobody” so that others can’t see your profile photo.
To change the WhatsApp profile picture privacy settings, follow these steps:
- Launch WhatsApp on your phone.
- On Android, tap on the three-dot icon at the top right and select “Settings.”
On iPhone, tap on the “Settings” tab at the bottom.
Go to “Privacy” followed by “Profile photo.”
Select one of the following privacy settings based on your requirement. (The safest option is to go with the Contacts setting.)
Everyone: anyone who has saved your phone number will see your profile photo on WhatsApp.
Contacts: only the people whose name is saved in your contacts will see your profile photo.
My contacts except: all your contacts except the people added to the exception list will see the photo.
Nobody: no one can see your profile photo.
Tip: learn how to view a WhatsApp status secretly.
3. Add Profile Picture Again
Many times, the picture fails to upload properly and isn’t visible to others. If others can’t see your profile picture even after you restart your phone and fix the privacy settings, add the picture again using the steps below.
Open WhatsApp “Settings” and tap on the profile picture icon.
The Profile screen will show up. On Android, tap on the Camera icon under the profile picture and select “Gallery” from the option, then choose the desired profile photo.
On iPhone, tap on the profile picture on the Settings page, then the profile picture icon on the “Edit Profile” screen.
- Tap on the “Edit” button at the top right, then “Choose Photo” from the menu and select the photo that you want to use as your display picture (DP).
Tip: want to use the existing picture as your profile picture again? Tap on the profile picture on the Profile screen and take its screenshot, then choose it while re-adding the profile picture.
4. Grant Permissions to WhatsApp
You must grant storage and contacts permissions to WhatsApp to show your profile photo to your contacts.
To grant the necessary permissions to WhatsApp on iPhone, go to “Settings -> WhatsApp,” then enable the toggle next to “Contacts.”
For Android, follow these steps:
Open “Settings” on your phone.
Go to “Apps” and tap on “WhatsApp” in the list of all apps.
Tap on “Permissions” followed by “Contacts.”
Select the option next to “Allow.” Similarly, tap on “File and media” or “Storage” and allow it access.
5. Clear Cache (Android)
On Android, also try the well-known trick of clearing the cache of the WhatsApp app. Clearing the cache will not delete your WhatsApp chats or files. Instead, it will remove temporary files that might be causing problems with your profile picture, thus fixing the issue of the missing WhatsApp profile picture.
- Go to “Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Storage.”
- Tap on the “Clear cache” button.
- Restart your phone.
6. Unblock Contact
Is there any specific contact who can’t see your profile picture on WhatsApp? You might have accidentally blocked them, and blocked users can’t see your profile picture or last seen and online statuses.
To check the blocked list and unblock a user on WhatsApp, follow these steps:
Go to “WhatsApp Settings -> Privacy -> Blocked contacts.”
Here you will see all of your blocked contacts. On Android, tap on the contact you want to unblock and select “Unblock” from the pop-up menu.
On iPhone, swipe left on the blocked contact and tap on “Unblock.”
7. Remove Contact
If your profile picture still doesn’t show up for a specific contact, re-add the contact to your phone by deleting then saving their number under a new contact.
Once you have re-added it, relaunch the WhatsApp app by removing it from the list of recent apps then opening it again.
Tip: learn how to delete multiple contacts from your phone.
8. Update WhatsApp
If your WhatsApp profile picture keeps getting removed automatically, it could be due to a bug in WhatsApp. You must update WhatsApp to the latest version to fix the issue and restore your profile picture.
Open Play Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone) and search for WhatsApp, then tap the “Update” button next to it.
9. Reinstall WhatsApp
If nothing helps you restore the profile picture on WhatsApp, you must uninstall then reinstall WhatsApp on your phone.
Note: create a WhatsApp backup before uninstalling WhatsApp to not lose your WhatsApp chats.
Reinstall WhatsApp on Android
Open the Play Store app and search for WhatsApp.
Tap on WhatsApp in the search results and press the “Uninstall” button.
Restart your phone.
Again, search for WhatsApp in Play Store and tap on “Install.”
Reinstall WhatsApp on iPhone
- Long-press the WhatsApp icon in the App Library and select “Delete App.”
Note: to uninstall the app from the home screen, long-press on WhatsApp and select “Remove App” followed by “Delete App.”
- Restart your iPhone.
- Open App Store and search for “WhatsApp.”
- Tap on the Download icon.
Frequently Asked Questions
All images and screenshots by Mehvish Mushtaq.
Why can’t I see a friend’s WhatsApp profile picture?
The following reasons could be behind you not seeing your friend’s profile picture:
- Your friend may have removed the profile picture.
- Your friend may have changed the privacy setting of their profile picture to “Nobody” or “My contacts except” and added you to the exception list.
- Your friend may have blocked you.
Why can’t I see someone’s profile picture but can see their online status?
If you can see someone is online but can’t see their profile picture, then they haven’t blocked you, but they may have either removed their profile picture or changed its privacy setting.
How can I hide my online status from others?
Go to WhatsApp “Settings -> Privacy -> Last seen and online,” then select “Same as last seen” under the “Who can see when I’m online” section. Choose “Nobody” for “Who can see my last seen.”
How can I change a profile photo in WhatsApp groups?
Open a WhatsApp group and tap on the group name at the top to go to the group info screen. Tap on the profile picture icon at the top and select the desired photo. On some devices you may have to tap “Edit” before you can make the profile picture editable.
Mehvish is a tech lover from Kashmir. With a degree in computer engineering, she’s always been happy to help anyone who finds technology challenging. She’s been writing about technology for over six years, and her favorite topics include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, social media, and web apps.
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