How Beeper Handles Avatars

How does Beeper assign avatars or profile pictures to your chats?

iOS & Android

Beeper will show you the avatar that your contact has assigned themselves in the respective chat network app. Beeper will not use the avatar you assigned to a contact in your device's Contacts app. This applies to everything in Beeper except for the avatar that appears when starting a new chat.

Desktop

All chats will be assigned avatars provided by the chat network to Beeper. If Beeper is not provided with an avatar associated with the contact from the chat network, it will default to the avatar that you have assigned to them in your contacts.

Quick examples

Your friend changes their WhatsApp avatar → Beeper updates to that new photo.
You set a custom avatar for a friend in your contacts → their avatar in Beeper iOS and Android remains unchanged. Beeper will display the updated avatar only if the chat network doesn't provide one.

Note: By default, Beeper uses the avatar provided by the chat network. To use your own picture for a chat, see Can I set my own avatar for a chat? below.

How does Beeper behave when an avatar is updated?

Beeper relies on each chat network to update your contacts' avatars, and the timing of these updates varies.

How avatars update for different chat services:


WhatsApp	The Chat Network	Updates weekly. Requires an incoming message after the week is up. Can take up to 4 hours to reflect after receiving a message, though some avatars may update immediately. Profile names always update immediately on message, and contact names update immediately when the phone detects the change.
Telegram	The Chat Network	Updates immediately upon receiving a message.
Google Messages	The Chat Network	Updates fairly quickly. While the network controls avatar updates, updating the Contacts app info will also update the avatar on the network.
Facebook	The Chat Network	Updates immediately. Natively encrypted chats may behave differently (TBD).
Instagram	The Chat Network	Updates immediately.
Signal	The Chat Network	Updates hourly. Requires an incoming message after the hour is up to trigger the update.
Discord	The Chat Network	Updates immediately.
Slack	The Chat Network	Updates immediately.
X (formerly Twitter)	The Chat Network	Update frequency TBD
Google Chat	The Chat Network	Update frequency TBD
LinkedIn	The Chat Network	Update frequency TBD

No chat networks match your search.

Key Takeaways

• Most chat networks handle their own avatar updates with timing varying from immediate (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Slack) to periodic (e.g., WhatsApp, Signal).

• WhatsApp has the longest update delay, requiring a weekly refresh and an incoming message to trigger the update.

• Some update frequencies are still to be determined, including for X, Google Chat, and LinkedIn.

Can I set my own avatar for a chat?

Yes. With Beeper Nicknames, you can give any chat a custom photo that replaces the avatar the chat network provides. Only you can see it, and it syncs across your Beeper apps.

To set a custom avatar, open the chat's Chat Info, then:

iOS: Tap Edit → Customize for Me.
Android: Tap the chat name, then Set Custom Chat Name For Me. Use the photo icon to set a custom picture.
Desktop: Select Edit in the top-right corner and choose Edit for Me.

Merged chats

To change the avatar of a merged chat, open the merged chat's Chat Info and select Manage → Edit → Next. Edit the avatar, then save.

The Apply info to merged contacts option uses the merged chat's avatar and name wherever that person appears in Beeper, such as in group chats, instead of their default avatar and name.

Note: Your custom avatar stays in place even if the contact or group changes its avatar on the chat network.