How to Change Your Facebook Profile Picture & Cover Photo (2026)?

August 19, 2026
How to change your Facebook profile picture and cover photo in the Facebook app — step-by-step 2026 guide
How to change your Facebook profile picture and cover photo from the Facebook app (2026 guide) — App World

Last updated: August 2026 · By ·

Your Facebook profile picture and cover photo are the first two things anyone sees when they land on your profile. Whether you just got a new headshot, want to promote your small business, celebrate a holiday, or simply refresh your look, updating both images from the Facebook app takes less than a minute once you know exactly where to tap. This guide walks you through how to change your Facebook profile picture and cover photo in the Facebook app on both iPhone and Android, explains the correct 2026 image sizes so your photo never looks blurry or cropped oddly, and covers privacy settings, troubleshooting, and frequently asked questions.

Quick Answer: How to Change Your Facebook Profile Picture in the App

Open the Facebook app, tap your profile picture (or the menu icon) to go to your profile, tap your current profile photo, choose Select Profile Picture or the small camera icon, pick a new photo from your gallery or camera, crop it, and tap Save. Your new profile picture updates instantly and is visible to anyone who visits your profile, since Facebook profile pictures are public by default.

Table of Contents

How to Change Your Facebook Profile Picture (Step-by-Step)

Follow these steps in the official Facebook app on iOS or Android. The layout is nearly identical on both platforms, with only minor differences in menu placement.

  1. Open the Facebook app and make sure you're logged in to the correct account.
  2. Go to your profile. Tap your small circular profile photo or the menu (three horizontal lines / hamburger icon) in the bottom-right corner, then tap See your profile or your name at the top.
  3. Tap your current profile picture at the top of your profile page. A small camera icon usually sits in the bottom-right corner of the photo — you can tap either the photo itself or the camera icon.
  4. Select "Select Profile Picture" (sometimes shown as "Update Profile Picture" or "Select Profile Picture or Video").
  5. Choose your new photo. You'll see options to:
    • Upload a photo from your camera roll or gallery
    • Take a new photo with your camera
    • Choose from photos you've already posted on Facebook
    • Use your Facebook avatar (cartoon character) instead of a real photo
  6. Crop and adjust the image using the pinch-to-zoom and drag gestures so your face or subject sits within the circular frame. You can also apply a filter or add a frame if you'd like.
  7. Check the audience selector (usually a small globe or "Public" icon) if you want to limit who can see it, and decide whether to let Facebook post it to your News Feed.
  8. Tap Save or Done. Your new profile picture updates immediately across Facebook, including in comments, Messenger, and search results.

How to Change Your Facebook Cover Photo (Step-by-Step)

Your cover photo is the large banner image that spans the top of your profile, behind your profile picture. Here's how to update it in the app:

  1. Open the Facebook app and go to your profile page.
  2. Tap your current cover photo — the wide banner image at the top of your profile. A camera icon typically appears in the bottom-right corner of the cover photo area.
  3. Tap "Update Cover Photo" (or tap the camera icon directly).
  4. Pick your new image from your photo gallery, take a new picture with your camera, or select one from an existing Facebook album.
  5. Drag to reposition the image within the frame — this matters because Facebook crops cover photos differently on desktop versus mobile, so use the drag-to-adjust tool to keep the important part of your photo centered.
  6. Tap Save. Your new cover photo appears instantly at the top of your profile.

Change Both at Once from Edit Profile

If you want to update your profile picture and cover photo together, or explore more customization options, use the Edit Profile menu:

  1. Go to your profile in the Facebook app.
  2. Tap Edit Profile below your cover photo.
  3. You'll see thumbnail options for both your profile picture and cover photo, each with an edit (pencil or camera) icon.
  4. Tap either thumbnail to jump straight into the same upload and crop flow described above.

Correct Facebook Profile Picture & Cover Photo Sizes (2026)

Uploading an image at the wrong size is the number one reason profile photos look pixelated, stretched, or awkwardly cropped. According to Facebook's own Help Center guidance, here are the current recommended dimensions:

Image Type Recommended Upload Size How It Displays
Profile picture 320 × 320 px (square) Cropped to a circle; shows as 176×176 px on desktop, 196×196 px on smartphones, and 36×36 px in comments/notifications
Cover photo 851 × 315 px (JPG, under 100 KB loads fastest) Full-bleed 16:9 banner; displays around 820×312 px on desktop and roughly 640×360 px on mobile, with sides cropped on phones

Practical tips based on these dimensions:

  • For your profile picture, keep your face or logo centered within the middle 60% of the frame — the circular crop hides the corners.
  • For your cover photo, avoid placing text or logos near the left and right edges, since mobile devices crop roughly 90–125 pixels from each side.
  • Leave the bottom-left corner of your cover photo relatively clear — your profile picture overlaps that area on both desktop and mobile.
  • Use JPG for photographs to keep file size small, and PNG if your image contains sharp text or a logo.
  • If you have a high-resolution photo, uploading slightly larger than the minimum (for example, 1640×924 px for cover photos) can look sharper on high-density "Retina" screens, since Facebook compresses on its end anyway.

Privacy: Who Can See Your New Photo?

Both your Facebook profile picture and cover photo are public by default — meaning anyone on or off Facebook can view them, even people who aren't your friends. This is a long-standing Facebook policy designed to help people recognize and find each other. However, you do have some control:

  • Before saving a new profile picture, tap the audience selector and choose who can see it (Public, Friends, or a custom list) for that specific photo post.
  • Go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Privacy → Profile and Tagging to review who can see your profile picture in general and who can comment on it.
  • Keep in mind that even with restricted audience settings, your current profile picture "thumbnail" typically remains visible to everyone, since it's used across Facebook for identification (in Messenger, comments, and search).

How to Update Your Photo Without Notifying Everyone

By default, Facebook treats a new profile or cover photo as a regular post and may share it to your friends' News Feeds, generating notifications and likes/comments. If you'd rather update quietly:

  1. When you're on the crop/preview screen before tapping Save, look for an option like "Share your update to News Feed" or "Post to News Feed."
  2. Toggle that option off or uncheck it.
  3. Optionally, set the audience for that specific photo to Only Me or Friends instead of Public.
  4. Tap Save. Your photo updates immediately, but it won't generate a separate feed post announcing the change.

Note that even without a feed post, your new profile picture will still appear wherever your identity shows up on Facebook — comments, Messenger, tags, and your profile page — since that part isn't optional.

Using a Video or Avatar Instead of a Photo

The Facebook app also lets you personalize your profile with formats beyond a static photo:

  • Profile video: Instead of a still photo, you can record or upload a short looping video clip as your profile picture. On your profile, tap the camera/video icon on your current profile picture and choose Take a New Profile Video, then record a short clip (typically a few seconds) that plays automatically when someone visits your profile.
  • Facebook Avatar: Meta's cartoon avatar builder lets you design a custom character and set it as your profile picture. From your profile picture, choose Edit Profile Picture → Add/Change Picture, then select your avatar. Because Facebook and Instagram share Meta's Accounts Center, you can also enable syncing so your avatar updates across both apps automatically.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

If your new profile picture or cover photo isn't updating, saving, or displaying correctly, try these fixes recommended by Facebook's Help Center and confirmed by common user reports:

  • Update the app. Make sure you're using the latest version of the Facebook app from the App Store or Google Play, or restart the app completely.
  • Check your connection. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data, or move to an area with a stronger signal — photo uploads can silently fail on weak connections.
  • Refresh and retry. Close the app fully, reopen it, and try uploading the photo again.
  • Check storage permissions. On Android and iOS, confirm the Facebook app has permission to access your photos in your device settings.
  • Reduce the file size. Extremely large image files can time out during upload; try compressing the photo or choosing a slightly smaller version.
  • Clear cache (Android). Go to your phone's Settings → Apps → Facebook → Storage → Clear Cache, then reopen the app.
  • Log out and back in if the change still isn't reflecting after a few minutes, as this often resolves display-caching issues.

Pro Tips for a Better-Looking Profile

  • Match your niche or brand: If you use Facebook for a business or creator page, keep your profile picture and cover photo visually consistent with your logo colors and messaging.
  • Refresh seasonally: Updating your cover photo for holidays, seasons, or major life events keeps your profile feeling active and current.
  • Test on both devices: Because cover photos crop differently on desktop and mobile, check how your new cover looks on a phone after saving it from a computer, and vice versa.
  • Avoid text near the edges: Any text, logo, or important detail should sit in the horizontal center of your cover photo to avoid being cropped out on mobile.
  • Use good lighting for profile pictures: Since your profile picture displays as small as 36×36 pixels in some places, simple, well-lit, high-contrast photos are easier to recognize at a glance than busy or cluttered images.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my Facebook profile picture without everyone seeing it?

Yes. Turn off the option to share the update to your News Feed and set the specific photo's audience to Only Me or Friends before saving. Your profile picture will still update publicly on your profile page, since profile pictures are public by default, but it won't be broadcast as a separate feed post.

What size should my Facebook profile picture be?

Upload a square image at least 320 × 320 pixels. Facebook displays it as a circle at 176×176 pixels on desktop, 196×196 pixels on smartphones, and as small as 36×36 pixels in comments and notifications.

What size should my Facebook cover photo be?

Facebook recommends 851 × 315 pixels as a JPG under 100 KB for the fastest load time. It displays around 820×312 pixels on desktop and roughly 640×360 pixels on mobile, so keep key content centered.

Why does my cover photo look cropped differently on my phone?

Facebook's cover photo has a different aspect ratio on mobile than on desktop. Mobile devices show a taller, narrower slice of the same image and crop pixels off each side, so anything placed near the left or right edge may not appear on a phone screen.

Can I use a video as my Facebook profile picture?

Yes. Tap the camera/video icon on your current profile picture and select the option to record or upload a short profile video instead of a still photo. It will play automatically for visitors to your profile.

Is it possible to hide my Facebook profile picture from strangers?

Not entirely. Facebook profile pictures are public so people can recognize you across the platform, including in Messenger and search. You can restrict who can comment on or tag themselves in your profile picture through Settings & Privacy, but the image itself generally remains publicly visible.

Why won't my new profile picture or cover photo upload?

This is usually caused by an outdated app version, a weak internet connection, insufficient photo-access permissions, or a temporary glitch. Update the app, check your connection, confirm photo permissions in your device settings, and restart the app before trying again.

Final Thoughts

Changing your Facebook profile picture or cover photo in the Facebook app is a simple process once you know exactly where to tap — and getting the image dimensions right the first time saves you from re-uploading a blurry or awkwardly cropped photo later. Whether you're refreshing your personal profile, branding a business page, or just trying a new avatar, the steps above will get your new look live in under a minute.

Have a specific issue not covered here? Drop a comment below and the App World Team will help you troubleshoot it.

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