Slack Default Profile Picture Colors, and How to Change Yours

Slack's default profile picture is a plain person silhouette, a round head over rounded shoulders, on a square. It comes in 14 colors, each drawn two ways (a colored figure on a pale background, or a pale figure on a colored background), for 26 images in total. Slack assigns one to each account that has no photo. There is no setting to choose or change the color: the profile editor only has Upload Photo and Remove Photo. To change it, upload a photo, or an avatar in the color you want. To upload one from a script, see our Slack API profile picture test; the call needs a user token, and a bot token gets not_allowed_token_type.

We downloaded Slack's default avatar files, ava_0001 to ava_0026 on Slack's image server, on 27 September and measured the two colors in each. File 27 and later return an error, so the set has 26. The profile steps are from Slack's help article "Upload a profile photo", checked the same day.

All 26 Slack default profile picture colors

The colors are Slack's own palette: blues, greens, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, aubergine, black, grey and teal. Most colors appear twice. Navy (#0b4c8c) only comes as a colored background, and teal (#0bd4c4) only as a colored figure.

The figure above redraws each one in its measured colors so you can compare them side by side.

How Slack picks your default picture: Gravatar first

Our test account has never had a photo. Its Profile panel in Slack shows the pink-red silhouette, and on 7 October 2026 users.profile.get returned this as the 512-pixel image:

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/<hash of the email>.jpg?s=512&d=https%3A%2F%2Fa.slack-edge.com%2Fdf10d%2Fimg%2Favatars%2Fava_0016-512.png

So Slack does not store a default picture for you. It asks Gravatar for the image tied to a hash of your email address, and the d= part tells Gravatar what to send when there is none: Slack's ava_0016 file, the #e01e5a figure on #fdf4f7 in the table above. The avatar_hash field starts with g for the same reason. That is why a Gravatar photo can appear in Slack without an upload, and why the color stays the same for an account until you upload a photo.

Can you change the color of the default Slack profile picture?

No. Slack chooses the default picture, and neither the profile editor nor Preferences has a color option. What you can do:

• • Upload a photo. The usual choice at work, and Slack's help says a clear photo helps people pick you out.
• • Upload a plain avatar in your color. If you like the silhouette look but not your color, make one in the color you want and upload it as your photo. The script below does it.
• • Upload a seasonal version. A frame or hat on your photo for Christmas or Halloween; free overlays are in holiday Slack profile pictures.
• • Ask an admin? Slack's help articles on profiles describe no workspace setting for default avatar colors either.

How to replace the default picture with your own

On desktop:

Click your profile picture in the sidebar and select Profile.

Click Edit.

Under Profile photo, click Upload Photo and select an image.

Adjust the framing, click Save, then Save Changes.

On iPhone or Android: tap your profile picture, View profile, Edit Profile, Edit Photo, then take or choose a photo and tap Save.

Slack's help says the picture should be at least 512 x 512 pixels and no larger than 1024 x 1024 pixels.

Make a default-style avatar in any color

This Python script draws a person silhouette like Slack's on a square in the colors you set, at 1024 x 1024 pixels. It needs Pillow (pip install pillow):

from PIL import Image, ImageDraw

BACKGROUND = "#22c55e"  # any color you like
FIGURE = "#ffffff"
SIZE = 1024  # Slack takes 512 to 1024 px

img = Image.new("RGB", (SIZE, SIZE), BACKGROUND)
draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)
head = SIZE * 0.17
cx = SIZE / 2
draw.ellipse([cx - head, SIZE * 0.18, cx + head, SIZE * 0.18 + 2 * head], fill=FIGURE)
draw.pieslice([SIZE * 0.12, SIZE * 0.62, SIZE * 0.88, SIZE * 1.38], 180, 360, fill=FIGURE)
img.save("avatar.png")
print("saved avatar.png", img.size)

Run it, then upload avatar.png with the steps above. We ran it with our brand green, #22c55e, and got a 1024 x 1024 PNG. For a custom emoji instead of a profile picture, use our Slack emoji maker.

Why your Slack picture looks the way it does

• A colored silhouette. You have not uploaded a photo, so Slack shows your default.

• A photo you never uploaded. Slack's help says that if your Slack email address has a Gravatar account, Slack uses your Gravatar. Upload a new photo in Slack to replace it. The next section shows how Slack wires that up.

• The silhouette came back. Someone removed the photo. On desktop, Remove Photo under your photo in Edit takes you back to the default.

• You cannot remove it on your phone. Slack's help says removing a profile photo is not possible in the mobile apps; use the desktop app or a browser.

A profile picture is one of the first things coworkers see when they click your name, next to your local time and status; see does Slack notify when you view a profile. Ideas for the status next to it are in our Slack status generator.

FAQ

What is Slack's default profile picture?

A person silhouette on a square, in one of 14 colors, 26 images in all.

How do I change my Slack default profile picture color?

You cannot change the default. Upload a photo, or an avatar you made in the color you want.

Why is my Slack profile picture a Gravatar?

Your Slack email address has a Gravatar account. Upload a photo in Slack to replace it.

Can I remove my Slack profile picture?

Yes, on desktop or in a browser: Profile, Edit, Remove Photo. The mobile apps cannot remove it.