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Fake profile pictures – Detailed guide 101

Fake profile pictures

Fake profile pictures are a serious problem in the online world, and it’s growing at an alarming rate. 

With more people than ever before using dating apps and social media sites to meet new friends, fall in love, using it for adult business purposes, or just find some fun conversation there is no doubt that this issue will continue to grow in the coming years

It’s easy for anyone with a basic knowledge of photoshop to make their picture look like someone else- even you! That’s amazing as well as scary, right?

This post will show you how to spot fake profile pictures so you can avoid trouble and if you are looking to use a fake profile picture, we have alternatives you can look into (legit and safe ones).

There are many ways that people (scammers and even legit users with privacy concerns) use fake profiles ranging from catfishing others out of money they don’t have (or worse) or all the way down to simply hiding their real identity so no one knows who they really are.

Whatever it may be – We’ll explore fake profile pictures in detail but we’ll also offer solutions on what not to do so you stay away from trouble yourself!

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What are fake profile pictures?

In this image a girl is hiding a face behind a weird photo. Used for a blog post on fake profile pictures.

Fake profile pictures are, as the name implies, any image that has been photoshopped to make it look like someone else is in control or a completely different photo than the person who has put it up as their own.

So yes – It’s as simple as taking a photo of someone and using Photoshop to change the image enough that it looks like they’re someone else or using it just as it is or using someone elses picture alltogether.

But why do people use fake profile pictures?

It depends on what the intent is- either they want to steal someone’s money, make fun of them or simply hide who they really are (privacy concerns).

The first two reasons we don’t really need to explore (because it’s sad that someone would do that) but the last reason is a serious one- it’s about hiding your real identity.

With the advent of social media, online dating sites, adult websites, and even online games, people are taking to the internet in record numbers.

Sometimes not everyone is who they say they are and some users simply want privacy. Its understandable.

Why is it not a great idea to have fake profile pictures?

Well, there are a lot of reasons- the main one being that it is against most terms and conditions of virtually every website out there.

But what’s worse is that once you do get caught with fake profile pictures (and it’s pretty easy for someone to tell if your profile images don’t match up), then you’re automatically thought of as a scammer or someone who is out there to catfish.

In short, people just lose trust in a second if you use fake profile pictures and they get to know about it.

Now that we are clear on this, let’s talk about how to get fake pictures for your social media accounts or any website that you are using.

How to get fake profile pictures?

AI Generation

The best place to get a high-resolution fake profile picture is This Person Does Not Exist (TPDNE), which is an online tool. 

All you have to do is just click on that link and it will generate a picture of you. You refresh the page, you have another picture for yourself. 

This works incredibly well because it’s a very simple way of getting fake profile pictures and also lets you make them look completely different.

However, there are two problems with this:

  • You cannot get more photos of the same person, you just get one. So it is ok for one-time fake profile picture but if you need multiple photos, this won’t work
  • The second issue I discovered was that reverse image searches occasionally return some of the source photos.
    You don’t want to have any potential matches to your profile picture so I won’t recommend using this at all.

That being said, if you are using it to get one fake profile picture for yourself, go ahead.

Note: Remember, it is in violation to use fake pictures.

Click your own photo and edit it

This is another foolproof method to get a fake profile picture. In fact, it’s so simple that even I could do it without any problems.

In this method, all you have to do is find a photo of yourself from the past and edit it so that it’s unrecognizable in terms of who is in the image and then upload it.

It’s a very simple method but there is a single problem with it: You don’t always have good old photos of yourself to edit and use.

The only time I really say this will work is when you can find an old photo, most likely from secondary school or college, and start editing them so they look new and fresh enough to be used for this purpose.

Take a picture of yourself now and use Photoshop to edit it

In this process, you take a picture of yourself now and use Photoshop to edit it so that it looks completely different than you, and then upload the photo.

For example: You can change your eye color if you want or you can skew the features of your face and change it.

As with using your own photo, this method also has two problems: you might not have access to Photoshop (it’s a paid app) and if you use any of the free apps like pixlr express they will not give you enough freedom or detail to make a picture completely unrecognizable.

However, if you have access to Photoshop and can spend some time editing your photo this is the best way of getting fake profile pictures fast.

Click your own photo and use sketch apps

Another foolproof way of making fake profile pictures is to simply use sketch apps.

There are a ton of them out there, all you have to do is find one that suits your needs and start drawing- changing the facial features, adding or removing people from the background, etc.

Some apps are so simple – all you have to do is upload a picture of yourself and it gives you a sketch back.

Click your own photo where your face isn’t fully visible

This is, of course, a generally accepted principle to get fake profile pictures.

The idea here is that you use your own photo but crop out your face or click in a pose where your face isn’t fully visible so it doesn’t have any identification or recognition factor.

For example, you can have your hair cover half your face or click a picture from behind with your head turned slightly sideways.

Use fake credentials instead of using a fake profile picture

This is another very simple way to get around it instead of fake profile pictures.

All you have to do is create a fake email ID, username, or password (all of which you can generate yourself).

You can also just use a different name, last name, birthdate, burner phones, etc, and keep your actual photo.

How not to get fake profile pictures?

Don’t get fake profile pictures from Social Media: 

You should never get fake profile pictures from social media. Even though others suggest doing it, let me tell you, it is NOT only unethical but also illegal.

Using anyone else photo is a copyright violation and privacy problem. It might be a criminal act as well – impersonation.

And, finally, when social media platforms or dating sites catch you doing this, you can be permanently banned.

Don’t use Stock Images – people can find you with reverse image search:

Don’t ever use stock images to get your fake profile picture. It is an extremely unethical and stupid thing to do.

People can find their real identity with Reverse Image searches using simple tools online.

When people find that out, they lose trust completely and would never want to talk or follow you.

Don’t get people’s images from Google :

Don’t just copy someone’s image from Google and use it as your profile picture. People can find you quickly, again lose trust and this could also put you in big trouble.

If they turn out to be famous in anyway, people can charge you with impersonation (a criminal offence).

So you will be in trouble with privacy laws, violating copyright as well as for impersonation.

You can understand how troublesome this can get.

How To Check For Fake Profile Pictures

Reverse image search online:

This is one of the best ways to find if any picture is a fake profile picture.

Copy the image URL and put it in reverse search engines like Google or TinEye, wait for a few seconds and see results.

There are many tools available that let you reverse Image search.

I suggest Google images for this.

To use Google image search

  1. Save the image on your computer
  2. Navigate to Google Images and click on the Camera icon
  3. Click on Upload an image and then click on Choose file
  4. Select the profile picture and upload it

This can help you find fake profile pictures.

Gut Feeling:

If you have a gut feeling that someone might be using a fake profile picture, then don’t hesitate to check it.

You can never know unless and until you check.

So better safe than sorry.

Thin content:

If you come across any account with very thin content, then that person might be using a fake profile picture.

So beware of such profiles and stay away from them.

Too polished or too good to be true

If someone is too polished or too good to be true, then check for fake profile pictures.

They are most likely to have a fake profile picture.

FAQs – Fake Profile Picture

Where can I get fake profile pictures?

You can get them from the AI tool. However, I suggest you use fake profile pictures only if you really need them.

Don’t just do it because someone else is doing it or fake profile pictures are trending. It’s not worth the risk!

We have already provided alternatives to using fake profile pictures

How can you tell if someone is using a fake picture?

You can use reverse image search and check if you find the original photo.

What are some signs of fake profile pictures?

If someone seems to be too polished or pretty, they might be using fake profile pictures.

Be sure to google the reverse image search tool before trusting anyone.

You may also have a gut feeling about the fake profile picture because it’s really hard to maintain two identities at the same time – so trust yourself, trust your gut.

Is it legal to use fake profile pictures?

It’s not legal to use fake profile pictures. It’s extremely risky and stupid to use fake profile pictures for dating sites, social media, etc.

You WILL be violating the law if you do.

In this image 2 people sitting on a chair wearing a mask of horse, and both are playing accordion

Conclusion: fake profile pictures

Fake profile pictures are an issue that affects all of us. Sometimes we just want to use them to maintain privacy, and other times people want to use them for negative intentions.

There are a number of tips and tricks to finding out if someone is using fake profile pictures, and we have provided some here today.

In case you want to use fake profile pictures, we have provided you with ways of going about it.

We hope you found the article interesting and informative! Thank you for reading. Have a great day.

Fake profile pictures – How to spot, what to do, what NOT to do so you stay away from trouble