diff --git a/zerver/lib/upload.py b/zerver/lib/upload.py
index 20b25b8451..3eeddcc0b6 100644
--- a/zerver/lib/upload.py
+++ b/zerver/lib/upload.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ def resize_avatar(image_data, size=DEFAULT_AVATAR_SIZE):
         im = Image.open(io.BytesIO(image_data))
         im = ImageOps.fit(im, (size, size), Image.ANTIALIAS)
     except IOError:
-        raise BadImageError("Could not decode avatar image; did you upload an image file?")
+        raise BadImageError("Could not decode image; did you upload an image file?")
     out = io.BytesIO()
     im.save(out, format='png')
     return out.getvalue()
diff --git a/zerver/tests/test_upload.py b/zerver/tests/test_upload.py
index a19a20f5c5..638624c890 100644
--- a/zerver/tests/test_upload.py
+++ b/zerver/tests/test_upload.py
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ class AvatarTest(UploadSerializeMixin, ZulipTestCase):
             with get_test_image_file(fname) as fp:
                 result = self.client_put_multipart("/json/users/me/avatar", {'file': fp})
 
-            self.assert_json_error(result, "Could not decode avatar image; did you upload an image file?")
+            self.assert_json_error(result, "Could not decode image; did you upload an image file?")
             user_profile = get_user_profile_by_email("hamlet@zulip.com")
             self.assertEqual(user_profile.avatar_version, 1)