Profile images

Profile images (also known as avatars) are an important component of a Twitter account’s expression of identity. Use POST account/update_profile_image to upload a profile image on behalf of a user.
 

Alternative image sizes for user profile images¶

Obtain a user’s most recent profile image, along with the other components comprising their identity on Twitter, from GET users/show. The user object contains the profile_image_url and profile_image_url_https fields. These fields will contain the resized “normal” variant of the user’s uploaded image. This “normal” variant is typically 48px by 48px.

By modifying the URL, it is possible to retrieve other variant sizings such as “bigger”, “mini”, and “original”. Consult the table below for more examples:

Default profile images¶

Some users may not have uploaded a profile image. Users who have not uploaded a profile image can be identified by the default_profile_image field of their user object having a true value.

The profile_image_url and profile_image_url_https URLs provided for users in this case will indicate Twitter’s default profile photo, which is https://abs.twimg.com/sticky/default_profile_images/default_profile_normal.png.

The table above can be used to determine how to retrieve different size variants of the default image.
 

Outdated profile images¶

If a 403 or 404 error is returned when trying to access a profile image, refresh the user object using GET users/show to retrieve the most recent profile_image_url or profile_image_url_https. The URL may have changed, which happens for instance when the user updates their profile image.
 

Profile banners¶

Profile banners allow users to further customize the expressiveness of their profiles. Use POST account/update_profile_banner to upload a profile banner on behalf of a user.

Profile banners come in a variety of display-enhanced sizes. The variant sizes are available through a request to GET users/profile_banner or by modifying the final path component of the profile_banner_url found in a user object according to the table below.

The profile banner data available at each size variant’s URL is in PNG format.

The following sizes are available:

The following sizes are available for the certain screen types: