How to Change Your Google Profile Picture

Your Google profile picture is the face you present across the entire Google ecosystem. It is the tiny circle that appears next to your emails in Gmail, your comments on YouTube videos, your shared folders in Google Drive, and your location dot on Google Maps.

If you are still using the default colored circle with your first initial, or an outdated photo from ten years ago, you might want to update it to something more professional (or more personal). Because this image is tied to your central Google Account, you only have to change it in one place. Here is how to change your Google profile picture.

How to Change Your Picture on a Computer

The easiest way to update your photo is directly through your web browser, as you likely already have the new photo saved on your hard drive.

1. Open your web browser and go to myaccount.google.com.
2. Log in with your Google credentials if you are not already signed in.
3. Look at the top center of the screen, just above your name. You will see your current profile picture (or initial) with a small camera icon overlaid on it.
4. Click the camera icon.
5. A new window will pop up. Click the blue Add profile picture button.

Google gives you three options for your new image:

• Illustrations: A library of pre-made digital art.
• Google Photos: You can select an image directly from your cloud storage.
• From computer: You can upload a file directly from your hard drive, or use your webcam to take a brand-new selfie.

Once you select an image, Google provides a simple cropping tool. Drag the corners of the bounding box to center your face within the circle. When you are satisfied, click Save as profile picture in the bottom right corner.

How to Change Your Picture on a Smartphone

If the photo you want to use is saved in your iPhone’s Camera Roll or your Android’s gallery, you can change your profile picture directly through the Gmail app.

1. Open the Gmail app on your phone.
2. Tap your current profile picture in the top-right corner of the inbox.
3. A menu will slide up from the bottom of the screen. Look closely at your profile picture in this new menu; you will see a tiny camera icon tucked in the corner.
4. Tap that camera icon.
5. Tap the blue Change button at the bottom of the screen.
6. Choose Device photos to select an image from your phone’s camera roll.

Just like on the desktop, you can pinch and zoom the image to perfectly center it within the circular frame. Once it looks good, tap Save as profile picture.

Why Hasn’t My Picture Updated Yet?

If you followed all the steps above, but your old picture is still showing up in Gmail or YouTube, do not panic. Google’s servers cache these images heavily.

It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a full 24 hours for the new picture to completely propagate across every single Google service. If you want to see the change immediately in your browser, try clearing your browser’s cache or pressing Ctrl + F5 to force a hard refresh of the web page.