Your profile photo on WhatsApp does not have to be boring and it does not have to be a photo you. If you don’t want to show your photo or you want a fun image, create a WhatsApp avatar.
An avatar is an image that represents you online and they are often computer-generated, or in this case, phone generated. You may not have realized it, but WhatsApp contains a comprehensive and powerful avatar editor that can be used to generate hundreds or even thousands of different avatars.
It is a lot of fun creating avatars and you can create one that looks like you, one that is completely different, or anything between. It is up to you how your avatar looks. It not only appears on your phone in your profile, it also appears on all your friends’ and contacts’ phones too. It is used everywhere you appear in WhatsApp. It is the image you present to friends and contacts.
Let’s see how to create an avatar in WhatsApp. There are only minor differences between WhatsApp on an iPhone and an Android phone. I will use an Android phone for the screenshots, but the iPhone is very similar.
1: WhatsApp settings and profile picture
Open WhatsApp on your Android phone. On the Chats screen, press the three dots in the top right corner and then press Settings in the menu that opens. On the Settings screen there is an Avatar item, but there are more options available if you press your profile picture at the top.
On the iPhone, press the Settings icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. There is an Avatar item, but ignore that for the moment and press your current profile picture at the top.
2: Change your WhatsApp profile picture
The screen design is a little different on the iPhone and Android phone, but in both cases you just need to press your current profile picture to change it. On an Android phone, then press the pencil icon at the top and on the iPhone press Edit at the top.
There are now options to take a photo with the phone’s camera, choose a photo from the Gallery or Photos apps, or use an avatar. Select the Avatar option.
3: Start creating an avatar
If you have never created an avatar before, you will see a couple of introductory screens. A welcome screen that tells you a bit about privacy and encryption. Then you must select a skin color from the palette provided.
4: Customize your WhatsApp avatar
There are many ways to customize the avatar and there is a toolbar below the image and above the thumbnails containing all the options. Swipe left and right over the toolbar to select the hair style, hat, nose and mouth shapes, clothes, eyebrows, body shape and more. Many sections have a color palette icon to the right of them. Tap it to change the color of items, like hair, clothes, eyes and so on.
5: Save and use your avatar
Explore each of the customization options and make your avatar look the way you want it to. It can be like you or different. It is your choice. When you are happy with it, press the Done button in the top right corner and your avatar is updated. Press the Next button on the next screen and you are nearly done.
6: Fun poses for your WhatsApp avatar
There is just one more thing. After completing your avatar, this screen appears and you can select one of several different poses for the character. Swipe left and right over the row of avatars and select the one you one, such as serious, laughing, inquisitive and so on. Tap a colour to use as the background in your profile image.
Tap the tick in the top right corner and the avatar appears in your WhatsApp straight away. It will appear in everyone elses when they open the app.
If you want to delete the avatar, change it or create a new one, return to WhatsApp settings and press Avatar.
