There’s a new bug on WhatsApp, where the profile photo does not show up for new contacts. It’s a common and widespread issue with several reports across social media. People are reporting that newly saved numbers are unable to see their Status, as well as profile photos; however, chats appear to function normally.
For new contacts specifically, WhatsApp behaves as if both sides are not mutual contacts. It also happens when numbers are saved in an International format. It’s not a problem with contact syncing or permissions, since it happens even when permissions are actively given to WhatsApp. It is certainly not a user error or device error. Both sides face the same issue of not being able to view each other’s profile photos or statuses.
It’s worth noting that the problem isn’t affecting old contacts. Profile photos and Statuses both appear normally for those. It’s just the new ones facing a problem, suggesting some sort of backend sync failure.
It affects people who have changed numbers as well, since WhatsApp treats that as a new number for some reason. Reinstalling the app or adding the contacts through a Google Account does not work either. People have tried other workarounds, such as clearing the cache, but they do not really help.
There’s a temporary workaround if this is really important to you. Setting the profile photo visibility to ‘Everyone’ from WhatsApp settings does fix the problem, but the issue returns if you switch back to ‘My Contacts.’ In my personal experience, blocking and unblocking the user does not consistently help either.
We don’t have an official acknowledgement of the problem from WhatsApp yet, and the issue isn’t isolated to one platform. It’s happening on both iOS and Android, and across multiple carriers and countries. Interestingly, WhatsApp Business is unaffected by this bug, indicating that it’s some server issue with the normal app.
People are awaiting a server-side or backend fix, and several are worried that it could take a long time to fix.
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Dwayne Cubbins
1428 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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