Is DiceBear Privacy-Focused and Self-Hostable?

Updated

Yes. DiceBear is described as a privacy-focused, open source avatar library, and it is self-hostable. The core design supports both claims: avatars are generated deterministically from a seed you control, and because the project is open source, you can run the generation yourself instead of relying on someone else's server.

What "privacy-focused" means here

The privacy benefit comes from how avatars are produced rather than from a separate privacy policy.

  • Deterministic generation. DiceBear uses "Same Seed, Same Avatar. Every Time." Any string — a username, email, or ID — acts as the seed, and the same seed produces the identical avatar consistently across platforms. You don't need to store uploaded photos to get a stable profile picture.
  • No image upload required. Because avatars are derived from a seed, you can avoid collecting and retaining user photos just to render a profile picture.
  • Open source and auditable. The library is open source, so the code that handles your seeds and generates avatars can be inspected directly.

One practical caveat: if you call the public HTTP API, your seed string is sent to that API. The privacy advantage is strongest when you generate avatars locally or on infrastructure you control.

How self-hosting works

DiceBear is available as libraries across many languages, so you can generate avatars inside your own application or server instead of calling a hosted endpoint. The documented options include:

  • JavaScript / TypeScript (@dicebear/core)
  • PHP
  • Python
  • Rust
  • Go
  • Dart
  • C#
  • A CLI (npx dicebear ...)

The same avatar can be produced through the HTTP API or through any of these libraries. For example, the HTTP form is:

https://api.dicebear.com/10.x/lorelei/svg?seed=Felix

and the equivalent JavaScript usage is:

import { Style, Avatar } from '@dicebear/core';
import definition from '@dicebear/styles/lorelei.json' with { type: 'json' };

const style = new Style(definition);
const avatar = new Avatar(style, { seed: 'Felix' });

Running the library version means the seed and the generated SVG stay within your own environment.

Choosing between the API and self-hosting

Consideration Public HTTP API Self-hosted / library
Where the seed goes Sent to DiceBear's API Stays in your environment
Setup effort None — just call a URL Install a library or deploy the service
Best for Prototypes, low-volume use, quick embedding Privacy-sensitive apps, high volume, full control
Output Deterministic SVG Deterministic SVG (same result)

Both paths produce the same deterministic avatars, so the choice is mainly about where generation happens and how much control you want.

What to check before deciding

  • Volume and latency. Self-hosting removes a network round trip to a third party and lets you scale on your own terms.
  • Data handling requirements. If your policy forbids sending user identifiers to external services, generate locally using one of the libraries.
  • Maintenance. Self-hosting means you manage updates to the library or service yourself; the hosted API shifts that to DiceBear.

If your goal is simply to avoid storing user photos while keeping avatars stable, the deterministic seed model already helps. If your goal is to keep seeds entirely off third-party servers, use a DiceBear library or self-hosted deployment rather than the public API.