Quick Answers
There are a few common reasons why your profile photo may not be showing up on LinkedIn:
- You haven’t uploaded a photo yet
- Your photo doesn’t meet LinkedIn’s size or aspect ratio requirements
- Your privacy settings are restricting who can see your photo
- There’s a technical issue or glitch preventing your photo from appearing
The good news is that in most cases, fixing the problem is pretty straightforward. Here are some tips to help get your photo to show up properly on your LinkedIn profile.
Have You Uploaded a Photo?
The most obvious reason your photo isn’t showing up is because you haven’t actually uploaded one yet. To add a profile photo on LinkedIn:
- Go to your profile page
- Click the pencil “Edit” icon near your name and current photo (or blank image placeholder)
- Click the camera icon to upload a photo from your computer
- Crop the photo as desired and click “Save”
Once uploaded, your photo should start appearing on your profile within an hour or so. If you’ve gone through these steps and your photo is still not showing up, move on to the next potential fixes below.
Does Your Photo Meet the Size and Aspect Ratio Requirements?
LinkedIn has strict specifications for profile photos. If your image doesn’t meet the requirements, it may get rejected and fail to display.
Here are LinkedIn’s profile photo rules:
- Image must be a minimum of 400 x 400 pixels
- Image can be no larger than 20,000 x 20,000 pixels
- File size must be 8MB or smaller
- Image must be in .JPEG, .PNG, or .GIF format
- Photo must have an aspect ratio close to 1:1 (square photo)
So if your photo is a different shape, like a horizontal rectangle, it will likely get cropped into a square by LinkedIn. This may cut off parts of your head or face.
To fix this, use image editing software like Photoshop, Pixelmator, GIMP, or an online tool to crop your photo into a square aspect ratio before uploading. Make sure the cropped image still meets the minimum 400 x 400 size.
You can also use the built-in LinkedIn cropping tool when uploading your photo. But for best results, pre-crop your image into a square first.
Are Your Privacy Settings Restricting Who Can See Your Photo?
LinkedIn allows you to control who can view certain profile elements, like your photo. If your privacy settings are too strict, your photo may not be publicly visible.
To change who can see your profile photo on LinkedIn:
- Go to your profile and click the “Me” icon in the top navigation
- Select “Settings & Privacy” then choose “Privacy”
- Go to “Profile viewing options”
- Make sure “Profile picture” is set to “Public”
With your profile photo set as public, anyone should be able to see it now. You can still restrict access to other parts of your profile while leaving your photo public.
Is There a Technical Issue Preventing Your Photo From Appearing?
In some cases, a glitch or technical problem can cause profile images to not show up correctly on LinkedIn. Some potential technical issues include:
- LinkedIn site outage or server problems
- Issues with your internet connection or browser
- Buggy mobile app
- Photo file corruption or incompatible image metadata
- LinkedIn page caching or loading issues
Here are some troubleshooting steps for technical issues:
- Force refresh your browser – this clears any cached images or pages
- Clear browser cookies and data
- Try uploading your photo again, double check it meets requirements
- Use a different browser or device
- Update your LinkedIn app
- Check LinkedIn Help Center for any reported issues
Usually technical problems are temporary and your photo will show up after refreshing the page or reloading the app. If issues persist more than a few hours, contact LinkedIn support.
How Long Does it Take for Your Photo to Appear?
After uploading a new profile photo to LinkedIn, it can take up to 24 hours to fully propagate across their platforms.
Here’s an estimate of how long it should take your new profile picture to appear in different places:
LinkedIn Location | Update Time |
---|---|
Your profile on desktop | 1-2 hours |
LinkedIn mobile app | 2-3 hours |
Shared posts or articles | 6-12 hours |
Search engine results | 24+ hours |
So be patient! Don’t assume your new profile photo is broken if it doesn’t appear everywhere instantly. Give it a day or two to fully roll out across LinkedIn’s platforms.
How to Change Your Profile Photo on LinkedIn
Uploading or changing your LinkedIn profile picture is easy to do at any time:
- Go to your profile page and click the pencil “Edit” icon
- Click on your current profile photo or the placeholder image
- Choose to upload a photo from your computer or take a new webcam photo
- Crop and adjust the photo as desired
- Click “Save” to apply your new profile picture
Your updated photo should start appearing within an hour or two. You can change your profile picture as often as you like.
Tips for an Effective LinkedIn Profile Picture
While any professional headshot photo is fine, here are some tips for selecting a LinkedIn profile picture that looks great and makes a good impression:
- Use a high quality image with good lighting. Get a professional headshot if possible.
- Crop it square and fill up most of the frame with your face/head.
- Wear business, professional, or business casual attire.
- Smile and look friendly, approachable, and confident.
- Ensure your face is clearly visible, not obstructed by shadows or objects.
- Avoid selfies, group shots, or distracting backgrounds.
- For formal roles, consider a more serious or neutral expression.
Having an engaging, professional-looking profile photo helps form positive first impressions and builds trust. So take the time to choose or take a great picture that represents you well.
Mistakes to Avoid When Uploading Your LinkedIn Profile Photo
When picking and uploading your LinkedIn profile image, be sure to steer clear of these common mistakes:
- Low quality, blurry, or pixelated photos
- Cropped off heads and faces
- Distracting backgrounds or objects covering your face
- Inappropriate or unprofessional attire, expressions, poses
- Group shots instead of a headshot
- Outdated photos from years or decades ago
- Recreational activities rather than professional settings
- Filters, special effects, or excessive editing
- Stretching or warping the photo after uploading
Stick to simple, high quality headshots in business attire with a friendly facial expression. This conveys professionalism and helps ensure your photo is approved by LinkedIn.
Conclusion
Having your profile photo fail to appear properly on LinkedIn can certainly be frustrating. But in most cases, it simply comes down to not uploading a photo yet, using the wrong image size or type, having strict privacy settings, or encountering a temporary technical issue.
By troubleshooting the potential causes and following LinkedIn’s guidelines, you should be able to get your profile picture displaying correctly. Just be patient, double check your settings, and contact LinkedIn support if problems persist.
With an approved profile photo, you’ll look more professional on LinkedIn and make better first impressions when networking and job seeking. So take the time to choose or take a quality headshot photo that represents you well throughout your career.