New to Kendo UI for jQuery? Start a free 30-day trial

ShowAvatar

configuration

Controls whether avatars are displayed next to messages. This is a global setting that can be overridden per-user via authorMessageSettings and receiverMessageSettings.

showAvatar

Boolean

Default: true

<div id="chat"></div>
<script>
let messagesData = [
    {
        id: 1,
        text: "This message has no avatar displayed.",
        authorId: "user1",
        authorName: "John Doe",
        authorImageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/Customers/RICSU.jpg",
        timestamp: new Date(2026, 0, 1, 9, 0)
    },
    {
        id: 2,
        text: "Neither does this one.",
        authorId: "user2",
        authorName: "Jane Smith",
        authorImageUrl: "https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/content/web/Customers/LONEP.jpg",
        timestamp: new Date(2026, 0, 1, 9, 5)
    }
];

$("#chat").kendoChat({
    showAvatar: false,
    authorId: "user1",
    dataSource: messagesData
});
</script>