How to change your profile picture on TikTok

Alice Sjöberg
TikTok logo next to hands holding phone

Changing your profile picture on TikTok is one of the best ways to customize your profile on the app, but it can be a bit more complicated than expected if you don’t know how to do it.

Profile pictures are one of the first things people see when you leave a comment on a video, or when someone clicks on your profile to check out the rest of your content.

Also known as PFPs, they have become so important that sometimes even entire trends are based on certain pictures, including the Hamster Cult trend, the Lana Del Rey Cult trend, among many others.

You are able to change your profile picture on TikTok as often as you like, so no need to worry if you’re indecisive about what you want the face of your account to be. 

However, some users have reported issues when trying to change their profile picture, as they go to open their Story instead of getting the option to change their profile picture.

How to change your TikTok profile picture: Step-by-step guide

Quickly summarise the steps here for Google to grab / tell users who don’t need the visual aid below. Below will be more descriptive

  1. Open TikTok
  2. Go to your profile
  3. Tap and hold down your profile picture, then tap “Change photo”. Simply pressing your profile picture once will guide you to your Story.
    • You might get a pop-up asking you to allow the app access to your photos. You can either choose to allow full access, or just access to some selected photos.
  4. Pick the photo you want as your new profile picture
  5. Move and zoom your photo within the circle until you’re happy with how it looks
  6. The photo will also be published on your story, unless you un-select the option below your photo
  7. Then tap on “Save” and your new profile picture will be on display on your profile

Go to your TikTok profile

Open the TikTok app and then tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner. If you’re on a desktop, simply hold your mouse over your profile picture in the top right corner, and then select “My profile” in the popup menu.

How to open your profile page on TikTok

Tap your profile picture

If using the app, tap and hold down your profile picture. This will bring up a new page where you’ll be able to share your profile or change your profile picture. Tap on the “change photo” button to get started.

How to change profile picture on TikTok

If you’re on a computer, the process is slightly different. Tap on the “Edit profile” button to the right of your profile picture, then click on your profile picture.

Select your new profile picture

After following these steps, you’ll get the option to select your new profile picture. If you’re using the app, a pop-up might appear to ask for permission to access your photos. You will have to allow this, or allow access to selected photos in order to change your profile picture.

You’re able to either pick a photo, preferable 100x100pxls, or a video at least 6 seconds and size of 1080 x 1920 pxls.

How to change profile picture on TikTok

If you’re on a desktop, a popup of your file menu, or Finder if you’re on a Mac, will appear where you’ll be able to pick the photo file of your new profile picture.

Tap save and enjoy your new profile picture

You’ll be able to adjust your chosen photo so it fits better within the circular profile picture frame on the app. When you’re happy, you have the option to post your photo on your Story or not.

If you don’t want to show off your photo, simply un-select the pre-pressed button under your profile picture. After this you’re ready to press save.

How to change your profile picture on TikTok

On desktop, you can adjust the photo by zooming in so it perfectly fits within the circle. Then just press “Apply” when you’re happy with the results.

Now, you can go back to your profile and enjoy your new profile picture. If you can’t see it, simply just wait a few minutes as it could take the site a few minutes to make the change. If you still can’t see it, simply re-do the process.

If you want to learn more about how to use TikTok, you can check out our other guides, including how to duet on TikTok and how to Stitch on TikTok.