How to View Hidden Profile Photos

[Christopher187]

So, I'm as irritated about this as everyone else.  I learned that the profile photo is hidden using site cookies.  So, actually the person's profile photo is visible to everyone EXCEPT the host receiving the request/inquiry. 

If using Chrome, just right click on the person's name and select "Open link in incognito window".  Then you will be able to see their profile photo, if they have one.

[Sophie204]

Don’t you think that’s exactly why Airbnb have stopped hosts seeing profile pictures? 

Im against discrimination but I think I’d rather be discriminated against before I book a room, than during. 

[Susan17]

@Lisa723 Personally, the photo issue is not a problem for me, as the jet-lagged people who turn up at my door are often barely recognisable from their Insta'd profile pics anyway. 

However, do you really think for one second that a homophobe or a racist or a bigot is suddenly going to change their deep-rooted, life-long biases and prejudices, just  because a multi-billion dollar corporation says they must? Come on, now...

Safer for all concerned if hateful, despicable people aren't forced into housing those they despise, and if the vulnerable are protected from those who despise them, particularly if its under the same roof. Let's not all live in fantasy land by pretending otherwise. 

[Lisa723]

@Susan17 I wasn't taking a position on the photo question, just noticing that the result of Airbnb's implementation may be the exact opposite of their intention.

[Susan17]

@Lisa723

I'm pretty sure that Airbnb's iimplementation is exactly  as it was intended to be. The  intention behind the implementation though, may not be quite what its purported to be. 

[Lisa723]

@Susan17 you think the intention was to allow hosts to see guests' photos and pretend that they haven't? You are indeed a cynic.

[Susan17]

@Lisa723

No, I believe the "intention" has far more to do with the professionalisation of Airbnb,  than it has to do with discrimination. 

This policy was first tested across certain markets, way back in mid 2017. If ridding the platform of discrimination really was the true intention, surely it would have been rolled out then,  rather than implemented almost 20 months later, when an IPO just happens to be in sight. 

And yes, some might call me a cynic, but I always do my research (thoroughly) before forming an opinion on anything, so I prefer the term "realist". But to be honest, given the overwhelming amount of evidence in the public domain (and even here, in the relative insulation of the CC) regarding the company's less-than-ethical practices and shady policies, I find it difficult to comprehend how anyone could be anything but  cynical when it comes to Airbnb. 

[Susan1028]

@Susan0, I'm with you on this one.  Follow the money trail...

BTW, this is still active on the site:

https://www.airbnb.com/trust

[Helen3]

No they will just use other platforms @Susan0 

[Rebecca160]

@Christopher187 I have this extension on both Chrome and Firefox and I cannot get the picture to pop up nor can I see a written profile. I am on an old Mac, so that might be the problem.

Anyway, I just  got my first request for a 2 week stay and the guest has no photo, no profile description and no reviews! I was not aware that the new policy would also hide the guest's written profile, along with their photo. As a single woman hosting inside my home, I just cannot allow this to continue. I need to feel somewhat reassured that there is a real person and that the person is who they say, not a third party and so on. This new policy is so wrong on so many levels. How is it fair for a potential guest to see my profile, my picture and pictures of my home when I can get no information at all about the guest?! So now, I have to decline the guest and get penalized and will be unable to book anyone for that period, per text message from Airbnb. I would certainly rent to a return client, but no mystery guests.  I am totally flummoxed as to how this new policy will help to build brideges of friendship.

Thinking to just put my listing on hiatus, until the policy reverts back to the way it was.

[Philip304]

yes the new policy has taken a safety factor away from host and I also will take listings down untill they change it back

[Christine615]

See if that guest is on Facebook - although I don't know how you'd do that if there's no reviews.

I would suggest that you change your settings to say guests without prior reviews must contact you first. I have Instant Book but I've found that many people contact me first to introduce themselves. My other guests do that even if they instant book without waiting.

But no - I don't allow people in my home if I don't know who they are in advance. I'm not a hotel.  My first Airbnb was in Paris and the host asked if she could friend me on Facebook to get to know me first - she'd had problems with a previous tenant and was cautious. That was one of my best trips ever.

So Airbnb needs to figure out who is causing the problem because it is not most of the hosts. 😞

[Rebecca0]

The profile information is not hidden.  It's only the photograph.

I understand your concern but honestly I think it's very unwise to put any trust in a photograph or to feel any reassurance about seeing one.  Bottom line - you never really know who will turn up at your door.  They may look nice in the photo and be horrible in person, and vice versa.

[Jeremy129]

I've had guests request with profile photos of them getting drunk at a bar. Now nothing wrong with getting drunk in my mind, but if you think that is accepatable as a way to introduce yourself to a host on Airbnb, then they are not the guest for me... I've also had some rather overtly sexy selfies which again is ok in the right context but not for when you want to book to stay in my fmaily home on airbnb.

[Jonathan733]

Quite 

[Lance-and-Chrissy0]

Exactly. If your judegment tells you it's ok to post that bad of a photo of yourself on a platform like Airbnb, I certainly don't trust your judgment with my home and personal belongings. I would never judge on the basis of race, sexual orientation or religion but I need to know that you can make the simple call of uploading an appropriate profile photo. The one gal that we approved, even though her profile photo was scary, ended up being a nightmare guest who did damage to our property. I feel Airbnb has taken away a fundamental right as a host to see the person I am allowing to stay in my home. Bad move, Airbnb.