Beeper guide
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: These behaviors are fixed in Beeper and cannot be overridden at this time.
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:
Chat Network |
Who Updates the Avatar? |
Update Timing & Conditions |
|---|---|---|
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. |
The Chat Network |
Updates immediately. Natively encrypted chats may behave differently (TBD). |
|
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. |
The Chat Network |
Update frequency TBD. |
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.