diff --git a/src/headerdef.rs b/src/headerdef.rs
index 32eb51e91..54ff2cfcd 100644
--- a/src/headerdef.rs
+++ b/src/headerdef.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ pub enum HeaderDef {
     ChatGroupName,
     ChatGroupNameChanged,
     ChatVerified,
+    ChatGroupImage, // deprecated
     ChatGroupAvatar,
     ChatUserAvatar,
     ChatVoiceMessage,
diff --git a/src/mimefactory.rs b/src/mimefactory.rs
index 4705224c5..91641bc78 100644
--- a/src/mimefactory.rs
+++ b/src/mimefactory.rs
@@ -637,6 +637,7 @@ impl<'a, 'b> MimeFactory<'a, 'b> {
         let command = self.msg.param.get_cmd();
         let mut placeholdertext = None;
         let mut meta_part = None;
+        let mut add_compatibility_header = false;
 
         if chat.typ == Chattype::VerifiedGroup {
             protected_headers.push(Header::new("Chat-Verified".to_string(), "1".to_string()));
@@ -677,6 +678,7 @@ impl<'a, 'b> MimeFactory<'a, 'b> {
                             "vg-member-added".to_string(),
                         ));
                     }
+                    add_compatibility_header = true;
                 }
                 SystemMessage::GroupNameChanged => {
                     let value_to_add = self.msg.param.get(Param::Arg).unwrap_or_default();
@@ -691,6 +693,7 @@ impl<'a, 'b> MimeFactory<'a, 'b> {
                         "Chat-Content".to_string(),
                         "group-avatar-changed".to_string(),
                     ));
+                    add_compatibility_header = true;
                 }
                 _ => {}
             }
@@ -758,7 +761,18 @@ impl<'a, 'b> MimeFactory<'a, 'b> {
 
             let (mail, filename_as_sent) = build_body_file(context, &meta, "group-image")?;
             meta_part = Some(mail);
-            protected_headers.push(Header::new("Chat-Group-Avatar".into(), filename_as_sent));
+            protected_headers.push(Header::new(
+                "Chat-Group-Avatar".into(),
+                filename_as_sent.clone(),
+            ));
+
+            // add the old group-image headers for versions <=0.973 resp. <=beta.15 (december 2019)
+            // image deletion is not supported in the compatibility layer.
+            // this can be removed some time after releasing 1.0,
+            // grep for #DeprecatedAvatar to get the place where compatibility parsing takes place.
+            if add_compatibility_header {
+                protected_headers.push(Header::new("Chat-Group-Image".into(), filename_as_sent));
+            }
         }
 
         if self.msg.type_0 == Viewtype::Sticker {
diff --git a/src/mimeparser.rs b/src/mimeparser.rs
index a9cb7578e..02541c680 100644
--- a/src/mimeparser.rs
+++ b/src/mimeparser.rs
@@ -195,6 +195,10 @@ impl<'a> MimeParser<'a> {
 
         if let Some(header_value) = self.get(HeaderDef::ChatGroupAvatar).cloned() {
             self.group_avatar = self.avatar_action_from_header(header_value);
+        } else if let Some(header_value) = self.get(HeaderDef::ChatGroupImage).cloned() {
+            // parse the old group-image headers for versions <=0.973 resp. <=beta.15 (december 2019)
+            // grep for #DeprecatedAvatar to get the place where a compatibility header is generated.
+            self.group_avatar = self.avatar_action_from_header(header_value);
         }
 
         if let Some(header_value) = self.get(HeaderDef::ChatUserAvatar).cloned() {