Was thinking of adding an avatar (random image I like off a search) and got to wondering this.
I think it’s fine if you’re not claiming it is yours. And most people assume that any generic/immediately recognizable avatar is just an image off the internet that the user just likes.
Though there’s maybe a weird grey area where if you use artwork from someone that isn’t like… a super established artist (hard line to draw) it’s kind of iffy. I wouldn’t feel right using someone’s drawing off Instagram. But plenty of people use anime avatars from manga etc. and I don’t see an issue.
Not the most important topic in the world but I thought it was fun to think about.
Technically speaking, it is illegal to even save images you find online to your PC.
However, because that billions of people do it, it is not enforced much less, not even talked about. However, I’d like to clarify that the only time you may run afoul with it, is if you find yourself at odds with a very uptight stock image site like Shutterstock. Simply because they charge money, quite expensively I’ll add, just to use stock images. They don’t like people finding ways to download stock images from their service.