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Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

A guide to size and dimensions of the Facebook Profile Picture.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

Categories: Social Media
Tags: Facebook Guides
Last updated about 8 months ago // Originally published about 9 months ago

Working out image sizes for Facebook often isn’t as easy as it could be. I have a more comprehensive Facebook photo size guide that covers a bunch of different places where images are used on Facebook. But here I’m focusing specifically on Facebook profile picture size.

Display Type Dimensions
Desktop/Laptop web browser 132 pixels
Smartphones 128 pixels
Feature Phones 36 pixels

In mid-2020, Facebook began rolling out a new, cleaner layout for the desktop site (Mark Zuckerberg had announced it a year earlier, but they took their time rolling it out). It’s designed to update the look and bring it closer to the mobile version.

Create Perfectly Sized Facebook Images Easily with Canva

If you're looking to make eye-catching Facebook cover photos and Facebook posts, it's worth checking out Canva. It comes loaded with templates perfectly sized for Facebook's image size requirements. And there's a mobile app, so you can do it right from your phone.

There's a free plan, and you can get many more useful features, photos, and fonts with the Pro plan with a 30-day free trial.

In the old version (which they’re now calling Facebook Classic), the profile picture was to the left of the cover photo when displaying your Facebook Page in a web browser. In the new layout, the Facebook profile picture displays under the bottom left corner of the cover photo, with a slight overlap.

Facebook Profile Picture - New Layout

It has a thin white line around it that’s applied automatically—you can’t remove that or control it.

The good news is that you don’t have to upload a circular image, something that would be a bit of a pain to create. Instead, you can upload any regular rectangular or square image. Whatever shape the image is that you upload, it will be cropped to a circle when it is displayed.

Facebook Profile Picture Display Sizes

Desktop/laptop web browser. In a regular Page view, such as when someone is checking out your profile, it displays in a desktop’s web browser as a circle with a 132 pixels diameter. That’s a bit smaller than the Facebook Classic size, which was 170 pixels.

Phones. The size the profile picture displays on mobile phones varies by the type of phone. On modern smartphones, it displays as a circle with 128 pixels diameter. On older phones, it displays at 36 pixels diameter.

When up select a photo to add a profile picture, you’ll get the option to move the focal area around (assuming it’s not square) as well as zoom in and out (so long as it exceeds the minimum resolution).

The profile image that appears next to your name on comments and posts in the timeline is the same image and is still a circle, but it’s automatically scaled down to a diameter of 40 pixels.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

Size Requirement for Facebook Profile Picture

Because it displays so small, you’re unlikely to run into an issue with image sizes. So long as your image is at least 170 pixels on its shortest size (which is pretty tiny), you should be good to go.

How to Add or Change a Facebook Profile Picture Using a Web Browser

When you’re logged into your Facebook account, go to your main page. Click on the small camera icon at the bottom right of the profile picture–as you hover, it will overlay to a “change image” link.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

You can then select from photos you’ve already uploaded or from something new you want to upload.

Once it’s uploaded, you can reposition which part of the image to use. Simply drag the circular part to the section you want to use.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

The circle part stays put, but the background moves.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide-5

If you want to zoom in, use the slider at the bottom:

Facebook Profile Picture Size Guide

When you’re done, click the blue SAVE button.

New Layout vs Facebook Classic

In mid-2020, Facebook began rolling out their new layout. It’s an incremental layout, so some users are seeing it before others. And for now, you can switch back to the old layout, which they’re calling Facebook Classic.

The profile picture upload process is a more streamlined approach. That’s a nice way to say that some features are missing compared with Facebook Classic’s profile picture upload window. At least for now–these might well be added later. Specifically, these are:

  • Skip Cropping link
  • Edit button to apply filters
  • Make temporary button

But during this transition period, it’s possible to switch back to Facebook Classic and use these features. So I’m leaving these in for now.

In the Facebook Classic profile picture upload window, you can also make some basic edits to the image, like applying filters or text, by hitting the Edit button under the image.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Edit

You’ll get a popup like that, where you can use the menu at left to choose from applying filters or adding text or stickers. You can also add ALT Text, if you like, which is useful for sign-impaired users relying on screen readers.

Facebook Profile Picture Size Editor

There’s one other thing you can do, which is make the display of the profile picture temporary. This is useful in cases where you might want to show support for a cause, celebrate an occasion, or just mix things up a bit.

To do it, click on the Make Temporary button at bottom left.

Facebook Profile Picture Make Temporary

From the popup, you can choose the duration to display the temporary profile picture before it reverts back to the original.

Facebook Profile Picture Temporary Image

You’ll notice in the screenshots above that there’s a “Skip Cropping” link. That’s gone in the new layout’s profile picture upload window.

Things Worth Knowing

If you find that your resulting profile picture, after it’s downsized in Facebook, is blurry, try uploading an image twice the size of the downsized image (that is, an image that is at least 264 by 264 pixels). I’ve found that in many instances that can give a sharper result.

Unlike the Facebook cover area, you can’t use videos or animated GIFs.

By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on May 13, 2020

Categories: Social Media
Tags: Facebook Guides

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News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

Comments

  1. Abhijith A says

    November 26, 2020 at 9:00 am

    I’m not able to upload my full sized profile photo. Not able to see crop option.

    Reply
  2. Rebecca says

    November 19, 2020 at 10:10 am

    I’m using desktop or android.

    Reply
  3. Sachi says

    November 18, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Do you have this option in the new facebook layout? November 2020

    Reply
  4. TY says

    October 1, 2020 at 11:01 pm

    Facebook isn’t uploading my pages (business) new profile pic. Select a new one amd it just says upload failed. Have updated phone and apps. With no change. Is this a fb glitch or something else. Have put a report into help center on fb with no help from that.

    Reply
  5. Rebecca says

    September 29, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    On Facebook classic you could choose to make the whole picture your profile picture. When they were letting you switch between the old and new, the newly uploaded photo would be the size of the circle, but full photo when clicked on. Since you can no longer switch to Classic, the profile picture is just now the circle even when clicked on. Is there a way to change that?

    Reply
  6. Adriana says

    August 18, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    Do you have instructions on how to do this only on IOS?

    Reply
    • destiny says

      September 25, 2020 at 10:57 am

      this dont work tho. beacuse peoplel ike to have a stream of all their different profile pics like on instagram. to show off where they been, how they look, their outfits etc. this sucks and messes up the continutity

      Reply

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