Using A Stock Image For Your Profile Pic?

[Guest offlinehelpers]

Spotted this today on the BBC website - thought it was interesting.
BBC News

'I gave away my face for free'

A young woman posed in a photo shoot and years later discovered she was the face of fake adverts.

From a personal point of view, I check all images before I deal with a seller. If they’ve got a stock or celebrity image I’m afraid I won’t deal with them.

How much credence can you give to somebody whose photo can be found supposedly running a landscaping company, working for a university and being one of the beautiful people on IG all at the one time, as well as having the skills needed to run a successful business on Fiverr?

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

Added - having read some of the interesting replies to my post (thank you!) I can actually now understand why some people are in fact using stock photos etc. for their profile image. I had made the mistake of thinking that what you looked like, or claimed to look like, wouldn’t actually affect how you were perceived as a seller. It seems I was way wrong - my apologies! 🙂

I’m not sure I understand why to be honest - I make much larger purchases online without having a clue what the seller looks like, or whether they look trustworthy or not. I don’t pick my checkout operator at the supermarket based on the size of their smile.

My reasoning? As a buyer I’m not actually paying my money to an individual seller - I’m paying it to Fiverr who then pays the money to the individual seller. I’m far more interested in the reputation of the website I’m using as a whole, rather than the seller I’m dealing with, as it’s Fiverr who’ll give me my money back if anything goes wrong, not the seller.

Thanks again for all your replies folks! 🙂

[cyaxrex]

Spotted this today on the BBC website - thought it was interesting.

BBC News

'I gave away my face for free'

A young woman posed in a photo shoot and years later discovered she was the face of fake adverts.

From a personal point of view, I check all images before I deal with a seller. If they’ve got a stock or celebrity image I’m afraid I won’t deal with them.

How much credence can you give to somebody whose photo can be found supposedly running a landscaping company, working for a university and being one of the beautiful people on IG all at the one time, as well as having the skills needed to run a successful business on Fiverr?

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

Added - having read some of the interesting replies to my post (thank you!) I can actually now understand why some people are in fact using stock photos etc. for their profile image. I had made the mistake of thinking that what you looked like, or claimed to look like, wouldn’t actually affect how you were perceived as a seller. It seems I was way wrong - my apologies! 🙂

I’m not sure I understand why to be honest - I make much larger purchases online without having a clue what the seller looks like, or whether they look trustworthy or not. I don’t pick my checkout operator at the supermarket based on the size of their smile.

My reasoning? As a buyer I’m not actually paying my money to an individual seller - I’m paying it to Fiverr who then pays the money to the individual seller. I’m far more interested in the reputation of the website I’m using as a whole, rather than the seller I’m dealing with, as it’s Fiverr who’ll give me my money back if anything goes wrong, not the seller.

Thanks again for all your replies folks! 🙂

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

You mean that’s not what you really look like? I’m shocked. 🙂

I’d personally love for someone to steal my picture and use it everywhere online. Just imagine the free marketing. Sadly, my usual ‘possibly slightly alive roadkill’ look isn’t what a lot of brands are looking for right now.

[lloydsolutions]

Spotted this today on the BBC website - thought it was interesting.

BBC News

'I gave away my face for free'

A young woman posed in a photo shoot and years later discovered she was the face of fake adverts.

From a personal point of view, I check all images before I deal with a seller. If they’ve got a stock or celebrity image I’m afraid I won’t deal with them.

How much credence can you give to somebody whose photo can be found supposedly running a landscaping company, working for a university and being one of the beautiful people on IG all at the one time, as well as having the skills needed to run a successful business on Fiverr?

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

Added - having read some of the interesting replies to my post (thank you!) I can actually now understand why some people are in fact using stock photos etc. for their profile image. I had made the mistake of thinking that what you looked like, or claimed to look like, wouldn’t actually affect how you were perceived as a seller. It seems I was way wrong - my apologies! 🙂

I’m not sure I understand why to be honest - I make much larger purchases online without having a clue what the seller looks like, or whether they look trustworthy or not. I don’t pick my checkout operator at the supermarket based on the size of their smile.

My reasoning? As a buyer I’m not actually paying my money to an individual seller - I’m paying it to Fiverr who then pays the money to the individual seller. I’m far more interested in the reputation of the website I’m using as a whole, rather than the seller I’m dealing with, as it’s Fiverr who’ll give me my money back if anything goes wrong, not the seller.

Thanks again for all your replies folks! 🙂

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly

Agree with your post but don’t believe this bit! 🙂

[cheyennewriter]

I’ve been thinking of using my real photo for a while now, but I’m terrified, haha. I’ll just keep pretending to be a typewriter for a little while longer.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

I’ve been thinking of using my real photo for a while now, but I’m terrified, haha. I’ll just keep pretending to be a typewriter for a little while longer.

Nothing wrong with a typewriter! 🙂

[lloydsolutions]

I’ve been thinking of using my real photo for a while now, but I’m terrified, haha. I’ll just keep pretending to be a typewriter for a little while longer.

Better a genuine typewriter than a fake celebrity. I am happy to “be” a logo! 🙂

[jonbaas]

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

You mean that’s not what you really look like? I’m shocked. 🙂

I’d personally love for someone to steal my picture and use it everywhere online. Just imagine the free marketing. Sadly, my usual ‘possibly slightly alive roadkill’ look isn’t what a lot of brands are looking for right now.

I’d personally love for someone to steal my picture and use it everywhere online. Just imagine the free marketing.

Although, that wouldn’t really be “free marketing” unless all of those images linked back to your gigs, pages, or online projects. No link… no benefit to you. 😉

People who steal your image aren’t looking to use your photo to link back to your content.

[miiila]

I also hope Fiverr would “sue” the thief and not the original model of their own picture.

Lots of easily found stock or otherwise stolen people pics there still, although I think there was a shift from easily found stock/other people pics to harder to find/manipulated to not be findable stolen people pics.

I’ve pondered using only logos in any online ventures several times before, because it’s so easy and well-practiced to steal and abuse other people’s pics for your dubious ventures, but the thing that remains is that many buyers do like to “see whom they are dealing with” and think if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic. Though there are valid reasons not to.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

I also hope Fiverr would “sue” the thief and not the original model of their own picture.

Lots of easily found stock or otherwise stolen people pics there still, although I think there was a shift from easily found stock/other people pics to harder to find/manipulated to not be findable stolen people pics.

I’ve pondered using only logos in any online ventures several times before, because it’s so easy and well-practiced to steal and abuse other people’s pics for your dubious ventures, but the thing that remains is that many buyers do like to “see whom they are dealing with” and think if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic. Though there are valid reasons not to.

What may be one person’s

if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic

might be another’s ‘too much information’.

For those of us with a ‘public’ life prior to, or at the same time as being on Fiverr, might want to keep them separate, for no other reason than personal privacy. as you say:

there are valid reasons not to.

but still no reason to steal images from other people. 🙂

[cyaxrex]

What may be one person’s

if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic

might be another’s ‘too much information’.

For those of us with a ‘public’ life prior to, or at the same time as being on Fiverr, might want to keep them separate, for no other reason than personal privacy. as you say:

there are valid reasons not to.

but still no reason to steal images from other people. 🙂

For those of us with a ‘public’ life prior to, or at the same time as being on Fiverr, might want to keep them separate, for no other reason than personal privacy. as you say:

My author bio could get me murdered. I have to use a stock image there (paid and with the necessary rights) for my own safety. I would prefer to be anonymous on Fiverr. A few times now I have been found elsewhere by crazy Fiverr people. It unnerves me.

[maitasun]

I’ve been thinking of using my real photo for a while now, but I’m terrified, haha. I’ll just keep pretending to be a typewriter for a little while longer.

I’ll just keep pretending to be a typewriter for a little while longer.

Just like you, I’ll continue to be an ellipsis although, thinking into it, I can always make myself an ellipse… :thinking:

[miiila]

What may be one person’s

if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic

might be another’s ‘too much information’.

For those of us with a ‘public’ life prior to, or at the same time as being on Fiverr, might want to keep them separate, for no other reason than personal privacy. as you say:

there are valid reasons not to.

but still no reason to steal images from other people. 🙂

but still no reason to steal images from other people. 🙂

Of course, not to means to use a logo or drawing which, in some cases, for instance, clearly looks female but still obviously doesn’t save you from being called Sir, dude and the like, so, conclusion: it doesn’t matter what kind of pic you’re using anyway, so you can just as well use a not stolen pic or drawing 😉

think if you don’t have anything to hide you can as well use your own pic.

That bolded bit that came before the quoted bit was the important bit in my comment. 😉

Maybe Fiverr should make those drawings like CS staff have mandatory as profile pics, and those need to be drawn after the ID pic handed in (of course presenting the seller in the most advantageous light), they could order some pro gigs for that and give them thousands of reviews like that, too. 😉

I would prefer to be anonymous on Fiverr. A few times now I have been found elsewhere by crazy Fiverr people. It unnerves me.

Me too, I’ve told people who wanted to credit me in a movie or book to just use “Mila”.

It would be different maybe if when I’d started on Fiverr, Pro would already have been a thing and people would have been encouraged to sign up with their real name and all and the “we’re oh so private” wouldn’t have been a main theme apparently, if they are going to be IDed now anyway and you need to give your SM in the Pro application.

I’d find it fair if one could apply for Pro with a new account and they’d let one start with a new account name with the review numbers and rating taken from the then deactivated profile, but well, fair is… the word even wouldn’t need to exist, if you think about it longer.

[catwriter]

For those of us with a ‘public’ life prior to, or at the same time as being on Fiverr, might want to keep them separate, for no other reason than personal privacy. as you say:

My author bio could get me murdered. I have to use a stock image there (paid and with the necessary rights) for my own safety. I would prefer to be anonymous on Fiverr. A few times now I have been found elsewhere by crazy Fiverr people. It unnerves me.

A few times now I have been found elsewhere by crazy Fiverr people. It unnerves me.

I haven’t been found by crazy Fiverr people, but I did receive a few friendship requests from Fiverr sellers. On a personal profile where I don’t advertise Fiverr. I don’t know whether those guys were crazy, but I’ve blocked them, reported one of them for a fake name (I seriously doubt that his parents named him Fiverr Best), and changed the settings so that only people with whom I have mutual friends can send me a friendship request.

The whole things was unnerving, yes.

[cyaxrex]

A few times now I have been found elsewhere by crazy Fiverr people. It unnerves me.

I haven’t been found by crazy Fiverr people, but I did receive a few friendship requests from Fiverr sellers. On a personal profile where I don’t advertise Fiverr. I don’t know whether those guys were crazy, but I’ve blocked them, reported one of them for a fake name (I seriously doubt that his parents named him Fiverr Best), and changed the settings so that only people with whom I have mutual friends can send me a friendship request.

The whole things was unnerving, yes.

I haven’t been found by crazy Fiverr people, but I did receive a few friendship requests from Fiverr sellers. On a personal profile where I don’t advertise Fiverr

These are the crazy people I was referring to.

Thankfully, I’ve since been banned by Facebook for refusing to give them a selfie. In this case, I’m safe. At least until someone I don’t know decides to track me down in real life.

[carineb]

Spotted this today on the BBC website - thought it was interesting.

BBC News

'I gave away my face for free'

A young woman posed in a photo shoot and years later discovered she was the face of fake adverts.

From a personal point of view, I check all images before I deal with a seller. If they’ve got a stock or celebrity image I’m afraid I won’t deal with them.

How much credence can you give to somebody whose photo can be found supposedly running a landscaping company, working for a university and being one of the beautiful people on IG all at the one time, as well as having the skills needed to run a successful business on Fiverr?

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

If, like me, you’re either plug ugly or would like to retain your privacy, just use a cartoon, logo etc.

Added - having read some of the interesting replies to my post (thank you!) I can actually now understand why some people are in fact using stock photos etc. for their profile image. I had made the mistake of thinking that what you looked like, or claimed to look like, wouldn’t actually affect how you were perceived as a seller. It seems I was way wrong - my apologies! 🙂

I’m not sure I understand why to be honest - I make much larger purchases online without having a clue what the seller looks like, or whether they look trustworthy or not. I don’t pick my checkout operator at the supermarket based on the size of their smile.

My reasoning? As a buyer I’m not actually paying my money to an individual seller - I’m paying it to Fiverr who then pays the money to the individual seller. I’m far more interested in the reputation of the website I’m using as a whole, rather than the seller I’m dealing with, as it’s Fiverr who’ll give me my money back if anything goes wrong, not the seller.

Thanks again for all your replies folks! 🙂

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

It seems that Fiverr doesn’t do anything against those people who are using celebrity photos. Is there anything about that in Fiverr TOS ? (I personaly haven’t found a line about that when I read TOS).

[fonthaunt]

Users who have celebrity photos, or images of completely different people who’ve got nothing to do with Fiverr? Illegal and immoral, and to be honest I hope they get sued.

It seems that Fiverr doesn’t do anything against those people who are using celebrity photos. Is there anything about that in Fiverr TOS ? (I personaly haven’t found a line about that when I read TOS).

It’s in the Seller Help Center.

"Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile. You can also upload an image that reflects the type of services you offer.

Note:

Do not use images from the web.

Do not use images that you don’t have the copyrights for.

Do not include “Fiverr” badges in your profile image.

Avoid using a lot of text in your profile image."

[hanshuber16]

It’s in the Seller Help Center.

"Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile. You can also upload an image that reflects the type of services you offer.

Note:

Do not use images from the web.

Do not use images that you don’t have the copyrights for.

Do not include “Fiverr” badges in your profile image.

Avoid using a lot of text in your profile image."

"Your profile image should be unique and real.

Does this mean the seller can be reported/flagged to CS if their profile pic clearly goes against these rules? But, I guess it is not possible to make out if the person actually purchased copyrights to use the image :thinking:

[scottwaltonvo]

It’s in the Seller Help Center.

"Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile. You can also upload an image that reflects the type of services you offer.

Note:

Do not use images from the web.

Do not use images that you don’t have the copyrights for.

Do not include “Fiverr” badges in your profile image.

Avoid using a lot of text in your profile image."

I find there are countless Fiverr sellers who have broken that rule and continue to, and never get in trouble. I have had several clients who are also sellers who have come to me for voice overs and only their user name stays the same. They have a different stock photo every time they order from me. I am not sure why they change them so much. Maybe they are trying to hide who they are for some reason?

I use my real photo because I have nothing to hide and I want my clients to know that. Quality, honest work, with nothing to hide.

[maitasun]

I find there are countless Fiverr sellers who have broken that rule and continue to, and never get in trouble. I have had several clients who are also sellers who have come to me for voice overs and only their user name stays the same. They have a different stock photo every time they order from me. I am not sure why they change them so much. Maybe they are trying to hide who they are for some reason?

I use my real photo because I have nothing to hide and I want my clients to know that. Quality, honest work, with nothing to hide.

I use my real photo because I have nothing to hide and I want my clients to know that. Quality, honest work, with nothing to hide.

It’s not about hiding something, it’s about privacy & personal security.

You are a man living in a safe country, good for you!

I’m a girl living in a very dangerous country… very, very bad for me!

[scottwaltonvo]

I use my real photo because I have nothing to hide and I want my clients to know that. Quality, honest work, with nothing to hide.

It’s not about hiding something, it’s about privacy & personal security.

You are a man living in a safe country, good for you!

I’m a girl living in a very dangerous country… very, very bad for me!

Oh my goodness! I didn’t think about that! Please forgive my stupidity!

Living in the US and being a male, I too easily forget about situations other than mine. Thank you for reminding me of that. I apologize for my comment if it offended you.

[maitasun]

Oh my goodness! I didn’t think about that! Please forgive my stupidity!

Living in the US and being a male, I too easily forget about situations other than mine. Thank you for reminding me of that. I apologize for my comment if it offended you.

Oh my goodness! I didn’t think about that! Please forgive my stupidity!

Don’t you worry, I have nothing to forgive you and please, NEVER, EVER, call yourself stupid!

Living in the US and being a male, I too easily forget about situations other than mine. Thank you for reminding me of that. I apologize for my comment if it offended you.

You didn’t offend me and no need to apologize, I know people living in safe normal countries, specially men, rarely fall into account about this issue, so I just thought it would be good to bring up this 2 factors, as you correctly stated, as a reminder.

One more thing to keep ind mind. Honesty has nothing to do with real life photos of oneself. That’s something market is drilling in our heads and it’s simply not true. We need to change that mentality as sellers and as buyers.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

It’s in the Seller Help Center.

"Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile. You can also upload an image that reflects the type of services you offer.

Note:

Do not use images from the web.

Do not use images that you don’t have the copyrights for.

Do not include “Fiverr” badges in your profile image.

Avoid using a lot of text in your profile image."

Not sure this tallies:

Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile.

with this from the ToS:

To protect our users’ privacy, user identities are kept anonymous.

"Your profile image should be unique and real.

I think I’d be more than a little miffed if I were flagged for not using a real photo of myself from a privacy point of view. 😉

Actually from any point of view.

[hanshuber16]

Yeah, I don’t really understand the “real” part tbh…

[nikavoice]

I use my real photo because I have nothing to hide and I want my clients to know that. Quality, honest work, with nothing to hide.

It’s not about hiding something, it’s about privacy & personal security.

You are a man living in a safe country, good for you!

I’m a girl living in a very dangerous country… very, very bad for me!

Damn, what a messed up story. 😬

I will say there are plenty of conniving & sleazy :camera_flash: galore. They prey on innocent and naive girls and boys. I’ve had one approach me a while back on SM, I blocked him. Turns out this creep was recruiting for a shady company.

Pic thievery is a never-ending saga. These people just grab & go and don’t think twice about the consequences.

I’m a girl living in a very dangerous country… very, very bad for me!

Which is totally understandable.

I’d personally love for someone to steal my picture and use it everywhere online.

Is that really you in your profile pic Andy? Are you sure it’s not a stock image? 😛

Agree with your post but don’t believe this bit! 🙂

Shh, 🤫 you’re right, Lorna is beautiful lady!

[fonthaunt]

Not sure this tallies:

Your profile image should be unique and real. We recommend uploading a picture of yourself to add that personal touch to your profile.

with this from the ToS:

To protect our users’ privacy, user identities are kept anonymous.

"Your profile image should be unique and real.

I think I’d be more than a little miffed if I were flagged for not using a real photo of myself from a privacy point of view. 😉

Actually from any point of view.

with this from the ToS:

To protect our users’ privacy, user identities are kept anonymous.

I think I’d be more than a little miffed if I were flagged for not using a real photo of myself from a privacy point of view.

Yeah, I don’t really understand the “real” part tbh…

My take on this is that you have an option:

You can use a real photo of yourself and it’s great. (Thus the real part.) For example, my image is really me, but I am wearing different makeup and hair from everyday, the image is edited a bit, and the image is nowhere else online unless someone has copied it. It would not lead anyone to the “real” me in a reverse search even though it is me. I’m okay with that since it works well with my gigs and it seems to help my sales. If I thought it was causing me problems, I would change it.

If you don’t want to use a real photo of yourself, you can use a unique image like a logo (thus the unique part) and that is fine by Fiverr as well.

As far as flagging a profile for a photo, I probably wouldn’t bother no matter what the reason. I can’t stand it when sellers use obvious stock or celebrity photos, but clearly I can’t prove who they are or are not. If they post on the forum I can tell them that I doubt it and that they might get flagged for it, but that’s about it. I don’t think Fiverr typically acts on profile images alone unless something else has triggered a flag and made them look at your profile. I have seen them ban people and tell them it was the profile image, but I bet something more led them to that account.