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Twitter Bids Adieu to Egg Avatar

Twitter acknowledged that there's 'an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior,' so it's rolling out a new avatar.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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An egg avatar on Twitter has become synonymous with hateful trolls, so Twitter is making a change.

In a blog post Friday, the company acknowledged "an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior," which the company said "isn't fair to people who are still new to Twitter and haven't yet personalized their profile photo."

So, Twitter is doing away with the egg avatar in favor of a "gender-balanced" default profile photo, which you can see above.

"We chose grays because they feel temporary, generic, and universal," Twitter wrote. "With that, we included a higher contrast color combination to make this image accessible for those with visual impairments. Because of its coloring, the new profile photo also gives less prominence to accounts with a default profile photo."

Twitter added that some people kept the old egg default photo because they thought it was fun and cute, something it's hoping to discourage with this new avatar.

"We want people to use this space to show us who they are!" the company wrote. "The new default image feels more like an empty state or placeholder, and we hope it encourages people to upload images that express themselves."

Now if only the company could conquer the actual people behind all those fake troll egg accounts.

The move comes after Twitter just yesterday announced changes to character limits for reply tweets. Now, when you reply to someone's tweet, their username (such as @realDonaldTrump) won't count against your 140-character limit.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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