diff --git a/src/org/thoughtcrime/securesms/loki/utilities/AvatarPlaceholderGenerator.kt b/src/org/thoughtcrime/securesms/loki/utilities/AvatarPlaceholderGenerator.kt
index 4cfd86e36d..7888a91b1d 100644
--- a/src/org/thoughtcrime/securesms/loki/utilities/AvatarPlaceholderGenerator.kt
+++ b/src/org/thoughtcrime/securesms/loki/utilities/AvatarPlaceholderGenerator.kt
@@ -5,22 +5,20 @@ import android.graphics.*
 import android.graphics.drawable.BitmapDrawable
 import android.text.TextPaint
 import android.text.TextUtils
-import androidx.annotation.ColorInt
-import androidx.core.graphics.ColorUtils
 import network.loki.messenger.R
+import java.math.BigInteger
+import java.security.MessageDigest
 import java.util.*
 
 object AvatarPlaceholderGenerator {
-    private val tmpFloatArray = FloatArray(3)
 
-    private const val EMPTY_LABEL = "0";
+    private const val EMPTY_LABEL = "0"
 
     @JvmStatic
     fun generate(context: Context, pixelSize: Int, hashString: String, displayName: String?): BitmapDrawable {
-        //TODO That should be replaced with a proper hash extraction code.
         val hash: Long
         if (hashString.length >= 12 && hashString.matches(Regex("^[0-9A-Fa-f]+\$"))) {
-            hash = hashString.substring(0 until 12).toLong(16)
+            hash = getSha512(hashString).substring(0 until 12).toLong(16)
         } else {
             hash = 0
         }
@@ -28,7 +26,6 @@ object AvatarPlaceholderGenerator {
         // Do not cache color array, it may be different depends on the current theme.
         val colorArray = context.resources.getIntArray(R.array.profile_picture_placeholder_colors)
         val colorPrimary = colorArray[(hash % colorArray.size).toInt()]
-        val colorSecondary = changeColorHueBy(colorPrimary, 12f)
 
         val labelText = when {
             !TextUtils.isEmpty(displayName) -> extractLabel(displayName!!.capitalize())
@@ -41,10 +38,7 @@ object AvatarPlaceholderGenerator {
 
         // Draw background/frame
         val paint = Paint(Paint.ANTI_ALIAS_FLAG)
-        paint.shader = LinearGradient(0f, 0f, 0f, pixelSize.toFloat(),
-                colorPrimary,
-                colorPrimary,
-                Shader.TileMode.REPEAT)
+        paint.color = colorPrimary
         canvas.drawCircle(pixelSize.toFloat() / 2, pixelSize.toFloat() / 2, pixelSize.toFloat() / 2, paint)
 
         // Draw text
@@ -63,18 +57,34 @@ object AvatarPlaceholderGenerator {
         return BitmapDrawable(context.resources, bitmap)
     }
 
-    @ColorInt
-    private fun changeColorHueBy(@ColorInt color: Int, hueDelta: Float): Int {
-        val hslColor = tmpFloatArray
-        ColorUtils.colorToHSL(color, hslColor)
-        hslColor[0] = (hslColor[0] + hueDelta) % 360f
-        return ColorUtils.HSLToColor(hslColor)
-    }
-
     private fun extractLabel(content: String): String {
         var content = content.trim()
         if (content.isEmpty()) return EMPTY_LABEL
+        return if (content.length > 2 && content.startsWith("05")) {
+            content[2].toString().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT)
+        } else {
+            content.first().toString().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT)
+        }
+    }
 
-        return content.first().toString().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT)
+    private fun getSha512(input: String): String {
+        val messageDigest = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-512").digest(input.toByteArray())
+
+        // Convert byte array into signum representation
+        val no = BigInteger(1, messageDigest)
+
+        // Convert message digest into hex value
+        var hashText: String = no.toString(16)
+
+        // Add preceding 0s to make it 32 bit
+        if (hashText.length < 32) {
+            val sb = StringBuilder()
+            for (i in 0 until 32 - hashText.length) {
+                sb.append('0')
+            }
+            hashText = sb.append(hashText).toString()
+        }
+
+        return hashText
     }
 }
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