How to Remove Your Profile Picture on Twitter

There is no way to remove your profile picture from Twitter. That is, you can’t delete the image and go back to the default avatar.

Previously, you could click or tap on the picture, select Remove, and the image would disappear. However, Twitter decided to ditch this option.

Therefore, this article will focus on changing your profile photo, rather than removing it. And it includes some other customizations as well.

Changing Your Twitter Profile Picture

Changing the profile photo is a piece of cake, and it’s the same on mobile and desktop Twitter. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Launch Twitter and log in if needed.
   
2. Click or tap on the Profile icon.
   
3. On the next screen, tap on Profile, then select the Edit Profile button under the header image.
   
4. Choose the small camera icon in the middle of the profile picture.
   
   • On a side note, you need to hit the camera icon dead on if you’re making changes via desktop.
5. Be that as it may, you’ll land on your Camera Roll/Gallery or local disk. Select the image you’d like to use and reposition it to fit the small circle.

Make sure to choose the image that’s properly centered because Twitter doesn’t offer a lot of wiggle room when it comes to repositioning the image. And if you’re using your mobile device, you can always take a selfie and use it as a profile picture.

Trick the System into Appearing as if You Don’t Have a Profile Picture

As said, there is no way to remove the image and go back to the default avatar. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t make it appear as if you did.

The Twitter default avatar is now a highly stylized human silhouette in two shades of gray. You can download this image to your smartphone or computer and set it as your profile picture.

And if you loved the Twitter avatar egg that got retired a few years ago, feel free to use that as your profile picture.

Note: Interestingly, Twitter doesn’t save your profile and header images under Media. And these pictures are nowhere to be found under Settings or any other menu.

How to Remove the Header Image

If you dislike the header image, Twitter allows you to remove it.

1. On mobile devices and desktops, you select your profile picture, hit Edit Profile.
2. If you’re doing it from a smartphone, tap the header image and choose Remove header in the pop-up menu.
3. On the other hand, if you decide to do it via desktop, there is a large X button, click on it to remove the image.

The default header background looks a bit bland. It’s light blue on mobile devices and desktop Twitter. So you might want to upload a livelier image.

Other Twitter Customizations

There’s not a whole lot you can do in terms of profile customizations. Twitter allows you to add a bio, location, website, and your date of birth.

1. Adding a location is the simplest because Twitter picks up on your whereabouts. That is unless you’ve unchecked the options under Customize Your Experience when you installed the app.
   • So, you tap on the location bar and choose the first one from the drop-down menu. On a desktop, you’ll need to add the address manually.
2. As for the date of birth and website, you should tap on the assigned section and type or select your preferences there. But there is one peculiar thing. Twitter allows you to change the date of birth only a few times.
3. Finally, bio is where you get to express your creativity in 160 characters. Depending on what you use Twitter for, you can make the bio as funny or as serious as you want.

Important Note: Twitter always displays the month and year you joined the social network. There is no way to remove or change this information.

Extra Tip

To keep up with the competition, Twitter introduced display customizations. But there’s a difference in customizations. The mobile app features sounds, while the desktop version doesn’t. Following a similar kind of logic, the desktop version features six color options, but the mobile doesn’t.

1. To access it via a mobile device, hit your profile icon, choose Settings and Privacy > Display and sound.
2. On a desktop, you click on the three horizontal dots and select Display.

“I’m a Little Tiny Bird. My Name Is Tweety Pie”

Even though there are some quirky limitations, Twitter is still one of the most powerful social networks to voice your thoughts. And it doesn’t matter what kind of profile photo or header you get. The trick with Twitter is to have witty posts and comments.

What is the best tweet you’ve ever seen? How often do you tweet? Share your experiences with the rest of the TJ community in the comments section below.