Guide
How to change your Facebook cover photo
Step-by-step: change your Facebook cover photo on a computer or phone, reposition or remove it, decide who sees the update, and fix common upload problems.
Short answer
Open your profile or Page, select the edit button on the current cover, upload a new image or pick one you already posted, drag it into position and save; for a sharp result, upload an image of 851 x 315 pixels or a larger file with the same shape.
Key takeaways
- The edit button sits on the cover itself, on both the website and the app.
- Uploading an image that is already the cover shape (851 x 315 or 1702 x 630) means there is nothing to crop or drag.
- A cover change may show up as a post; you can change that post's audience afterwards.
- Treat your current cover as visible to anyone who opens your profile.
Changing a Facebook cover takes about a minute. The part that takes longer is getting an image that looks right on both computers and phones, so this guide covers the steps and the sizing that saves you from dragging and re-cropping. Facebook moves buttons around from time to time, so the labels you see may differ slightly from the ones described here.
How do you change your cover photo on a computer?
Go to your profile, select the edit cover button on the cover image, choose to upload a photo, then save once it looks right.
- Open your profile by selecting your name or profile picture.
- On the cover area at the top, select the button for editing the cover. It usually has a camera icon.
- Choose to upload a new photo from your computer, or pick one from photos you already posted.
- If the image is a different shape from the cover, drag it up or down to choose which part shows.
- Select save.
The cover appears straight away. If it looks soft or oddly cropped, the file is probably the wrong shape or too small, which is covered further down.
How do you change it in the Facebook app?
In the app, open your profile, tap the camera icon on the cover, upload a photo, adjust and save.
The app flow mirrors the website: profile, the camera icon on the cover, upload, adjust, save. Phone screens show the cover with the sides trimmed, so check the preview carefully before you save. Text near the left or right edge often gets cut off on phones even when it looks fine on a laptop. Our guide to cover size and safe zones has the measurements.
What size should the new cover be?
Upload 851 x 315 pixels, or 1702 x 630 for a sharper result on high-density screens; both have the same shape, so Facebook does not need to crop them.
When your upload is the right shape, there is nothing to reposition and nothing gets lost. When it's a different shape, such as a portrait phone photo, Facebook asks you to drag it into place and then scales it. That costs sharpness, and you can only shift the picture along one direction.
The free cover maker exports 1702 x 630 by default, and its phone crop and profile photo overlays show what each screen will keep. A cover made at the right size goes up without any dragging.
How do you reposition a cover you already have?
Open the edit menu on the cover, choose the reposition option, drag the image and save.
Repositioning only works when the photo is bigger than the cover area in one direction. If you made the cover at the exact cover shape, the reposition option does nothing, because the whole image is already in view. To change what shows in that case, edit the image itself and upload it again.
Who can see that you changed your cover?
Your current cover is shown to anyone who opens your profile, and the change may also appear as a post that you can limit afterwards.
Facebook has long treated profile covers as visible to everyone who visits a profile. Older covers are kept in an album, and each photo in that album has its own audience setting.
Depending on your version of the app and website, changing the cover may create a post on your profile and in friends' feeds. If you'd rather not announce it:
- Open the post that Facebook created for the update.
- Use its audience selector to change it, for example from Public or Friends to Only me.
- Or delete the post. On most versions this keeps the new cover in place, but check your profile afterwards.
Because this behavior has changed over time, check the post right after you save the new cover. For anything sensitive, assume the cover itself is public.
Why does my new cover look blurry or cropped?
Blurry or cropped covers almost always come from the wrong shape, a small file, or text placed too close to the edges.
Work through these in order:
- Check the shape. Anything other than about 2.7 to 1 gets cropped.
- Check the size. Below 851 pixels wide, Facebook has to enlarge the picture, which softens it.
- Check the format. Text and flat colors come through compression better as PNG than as JPG.
- Check the edges. Phones cut about 145 pixels from each side of an 851 wide cover.
- Check the lower left. Your profile picture covers part of it.
Our guide on using quotes and text on covers covers readable text sizes and contrast.
Can you change the cover on a Facebook Page?
Yes, Page covers use the same steps and the same size as personal profile covers.
Switch to the Page, or open it from an account that has permission to edit it, and use the edit button on the cover. Business Pages often change covers for opening hours, sales and seasons. Short text, a clear logo away from the lower left, and a quick check of the phone view keep the result clean. For inspiration, see our cover ideas for small business Pages.
How often should you change it?
There is no rule; many people change their cover a few times a year, often for seasons, holidays or big life events.
A cover that matches the season, or a new job, or a trip, gives friends a small reason to visit your profile. If you're making a new one, the maker's cover categories give you starting points for holidays, nature, quotes and more.
Questions
Why can't I drag my Facebook cover to reposition it?
If your image is exactly the cover shape, there is nothing to move, because the whole picture already fits. Repositioning only works when the image is taller or wider than the cover area. To shift the framing, edit the image itself and upload it again.
Can I change my cover without anyone seeing a post about it?
Facebook has handled this differently over the years and between the app and the website. When a cover change creates a post, you can usually open that post's audience setting and narrow it, for example to Only me. The cover itself remains visible on your profile.
How do I remove my Facebook cover photo?
Open the edit menu on the cover and look for a remove option. If it is not offered on your version of Facebook, replace the cover with a plain, simple image instead.
Do Pages and profiles use the same steps?
The steps are nearly identical, and both use the same cover size. On a Page, you need to be using Facebook as the Page or have the right access to change it.