How to Add A Picture To Your Gmail Profile

Change the picture people see when they open your emails

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on July 12, 2022
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • Select Settings gear in top-right > See all settings > General tab > My picture > About Me link.
  • Next: Select profile picture > Change > take or upload image > adjust > select Save as profile photo.

This article explains how to change your profile picture for Gmail, which will apply to Google Photos and Google Calendar as well.

How to Change Your Profile Picture in Gmail

You can also change your Gmail profile picture from within Gmail's settings. However, going this route only lets you upload a new picture, not select one you already have on your Google account.

  1. Select the Settings gear at the upper-right of Gmail.

    The Settings gear in Gmail

  2. Select See all settings from the options.

    The "See All Settings" button in Gmail

  3. In the General tab, scroll down to the My picture section and click the About me link.

    Gmail general settings with 'About me' highlighted

  4. You'll go to your About Me page for all of Google's services. Select profile picture.

    Google's About me settings page with 'profile picture' highlighted

  5. Select Change.

  6. A window opens giving you the option to upload a photo or choose one you've uploaded to your Google account. Select the photo you want to make your profile picture using either method. Alternatively, you can also choose Camera and take a new one with your webcam.

  7. Scale and move the new photo until it looks how you want, and then select Save as profile photo.

    Your profile picture must be a square. If you upload one with a different aspect ratio, you'll have to crop it before you can use it for your profile.

    A Google user changes their profile picture. 'Set as profile photo' button is highlighted.

  8. Google will update your profile picture throughout its services.

Why Change My Gmail Profile Picture?

Your Gmail profile picture is what people see when they open your emails in their Gmail account. You can change this picture any time you want and for any reason by clicking on your existing image or avatar.

You should have a profile picture in Gmail not only for people you know but also those you don't to minimize the anonymity behind your email address. When you update your Gmail profile photo, anyone who hovers a mouse over your name or email address from their email account will see your updated profile image.

You can only use one image across your entire Google account, with the exception of Gmail and YouTube. When you change your Gmail profile image, you can make it change just for Gmail, or you can have all of your profile pictures change across any other Google-run public page you might have, like in Hangouts. In YouTube, you can set a separate picture that's different from your Google Account.

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