While you can easily download a WhatsApp group’s profile picture, the app prevents you from downloading an individual contact’s profile picture for privacy reasons. You can’t directly save it, and if you try to take a screenshot, you’ll get the “This app doesn’t allow screenshots” or “Screen capture blocked” message. So, how can you save someone else’s WhatsApp profile picture? I’ll tell you.
But before we start, please understand that there’s a reason WhatsApp has this restriction. Respect others’ privacy and do not misuse anyone’s profile picture. You may use this for your friends or people you know with permission. With that being clear, let’s begin.
Method 1: Screenshot the Contact Popup (Android Only)
While you cannot take a screenshot of the profile photo page, you can take a screenshot of the contact popup that appears when you tap their profile photo. However, this popup appears only on Android phones.
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap the contact’s photo in the chat.
- When you see the popup with their profile photo and options to call, message, or video call, press the Volume Down + Power buttons together to capture a screenshot. You can later crop their profile picture from this screenshot.
Method 2: Save a WhatsApp Profile Picture Using Online Tools
If the contact has their profile picture visibility set to public (i.e., everyone), you can easily download it using third-party tools online. However, note that this is against WhatsApp’s guidelines, and you’ll need to enter the other person’s number on these tools, which may have privacy implications.
1. Open a web browser and head to https://toolzin.com/tools/whatsapp-dp-downloader/.
2. Enter the WhatsApp number of the person whose picture you want to save and choose their country code.
3. Tap Download Now.
4. Once you get their profile picture, tap Save DP.
Method 3: Download Profile Picture On WhatsApp Web
Alternatively, you can use WhatsApp Web to screenshot any of your contacts’ profile pictures. The screenshot restrictions do not apply there. Here’s how:
1. Launch WhatsApp Web (web.whatsapp.com) on your PC and log in to your account.
2. Open a chat and click the contact’s name at the top to open their profile.
3. Click their profile picture to open it in full size.
3. Now, take a screenshot of the profile photo.
Alternatively, right-click the image, select “Save image as”, and save it to your PC. By default, it will be saved as “file.enc”. Simply change the file extension to “jpeg” (e.g., rename it to “file.jpeg”) to view it normally.
While WhatsApp makes it intentionally difficult to save someone’s profile picture for privacy reasons, I hope the above workarounds help you when needed. Of course, you could always take a picture of their DP from another phone, but that’s rather obvious, so I didn’t include it in the list. Remember to always respect people’s privacy and only use these methods ethically. If you need someone’s profile picture, the best approach is to simply ask them for it directly.
