Profile Picture Tips and Photo Sharing Etiquette
Join freeUse recent photos with your face clearly visible, write a bio with a few specifics people can ask about, leave out anything that pinpoints you, and always ask before you send anyone an image.
Your profile is your opening line
Before anyone says hello, they look at your photos and read your bio, and they decide in a few seconds whether they've got something to say to you. That's not shallow, it's just how starting a conversation works. A profile that gives people easy things to ask about gets better messages, from people who are more likely to suit you.
The aim isn't to look like a model or sound like a poet. It's to look like you on a good day and sound like you after a cup of tea: friendly, specific and honest.
Choosing photos that do you justice
Recent
Pictures from roughly the last year. People should recognise you when you meet.
Your face, clearly
At least one photo without sunglasses, hats or a heavy shadow, so people can see who they're talking to.
One of you alone
Group shots are fine as extras, but nobody should have to guess which person is you.
Doing something you love
A walk, a kitchen, a gig, an allotment. It's a ready-made conversation starter.
Natural light, real smile
Daylight from a window flatters everyone, and a genuine laugh beats a practised pout.
Go easy on filters
A little brightening is fine; anything that changes your face sets up a disappointing first meeting.
Honest about your age and how you look
Natter is for adults only (18+), and the person in your photos is the person people expect to meet. Shaving a few years off your age or using a picture from a decade ago might bring in more messages at first, but every one of those chats starts with a small untruth that has to come out eventually. It's far easier to be liked for who you actually are.
Natter offers a few ways to show you're genuine, all optional. Every member is offered an ID check that costs nothing, and passing it puts a badge on your profile; there's also a live video check with a moderator that needs no documents. A badge doesn't make someone perfect, and a missing one doesn't make them fake, but it's a nice reassurance to offer. The features page explains each check.
A bio that gives people something to ask about
Worth including
- Two or three specific things you enjoy ("Sunday car boot sales", not "going out")
- A small, harmless opinion people can argue with
- What you're hoping for: friends, a date, or both
- A question or hook that invites a first message
Better left out
- A list of things you don't want
- Your CV, or your full life story
- Phrases that could describe anyone, like "I love to laugh"
- Contact details or handles for other apps
A couple of lines like "Currently losing a long-running war with my sourdough starter. Tell me your best kitchen disaster" give a stranger an easy, friendly way in. Our guide to opening messages shows how people use exactly those hooks.
What to keep off your profile altogether
Your profile is seen by Natter members and by members of the partner sites in its network, so treat it as public. Leave out your surname, your address, your workplace, your phone number and your email, and check your photos for the background details that quietly give the same things away: a house number, a street sign, a car number plate, a work lanyard. Natter only ever shows your nearest town or city, never your address, and it's worth keeping your profile just as discreet. Our privacy tips go into this in detail.
Photo manners in a chat
Sharing a picture can make a chat feel closer, a snap of the view from your walk or the dog asleep on the sofa. A few manners keep it that way:
- Ask before you send an image
- Every time, with everyone. It's in Natter's community rules, and it's simply good manners.
- Never send an explicit image unasked
- Natter is a mainstream site. An unwanted explicit image ends conversations and can end memberships.
- Take no for an answer
- If someone doesn't want to share a photo, or doesn't want to see yours, that's the end of it.
- Never pass a photo on
- Pictures and messages people send you are for you. Don't forward them, and don't share screenshots of someone's chat.
Natter backs these manners up. Photos, videos and text are screened by software and human reviewers when they're uploaded, and anything that might be explicit is shown blurred, behind a warning, unless you decide to see it. If something of yours is shared without your consent, report it: Natter acts quickly to take it down.
Want your profile to stand out a little more?
A good photo and a friendly bio do most of the work on every plan. If you'd like extra visibility, VIP adds a VIP badge and highlights your messages in other members' inboxes, and VIP+ adds priority placement for your profile, an enhanced profile design and a VIP+ badge. The features page sets out the differences.
For the manners that go with a great profile, see our chat etiquette dos and don'ts, the rest of the chat etiquette guides, and the chat safety page.
Questions about photos and profiles
What makes a good profile picture?
A recent photo in natural light where your face is clear and you look relaxed. Add one of you on your own and one doing something you enjoy, and people will have plenty to say.
How many photos should I put on my profile?
A handful is plenty. Three or four varied, recent pictures show more of you than a dozen similar selfies, and each one can give someone a reason to start a chat.
What should I write in my bio?
A few specific things you enjoy, a light opinion and what you are hoping to find, ideally with a question people can answer. Keep it short and friendly, with no contact details.
Is it OK to send photos in a chat?
Yes, if the other person has said they would like to see one. Always ask first, never send anything explicit unasked, and respect a no straight away.
What if someone shares my photo without permission?
Report it on Natter straight away, along with the member who shared it. Natter acts quickly to take down content shared without consent, and you can block the person at once.
Put Your Best Natter Face Forward
Pick a recent photo, write a line people can reply to, and see who says hello.
Join free