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The perfect dimensions for a crisp, professional profile photo that looks great everywhere.
Quick Answer
Upload at 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 square). Instagram crops it to a circle and displays it at various small sizes. Higher resolution = sharper on all devices.
Upload
1080 x 1080
Display
Circle crop
Corners are cropped off—keep important content centered!
Recommended Size
Minimum for crisp display
320 x 320 px
Optimal Size
Best for high-res screens
1080 x 1080 px
Aspect Ratio
Square format, cropped to circle
1:1
File Format
PNG for graphics/logos
JPG or PNG
Max File Size
Under 5MB recommended
No hard limit
Display Size
Varies by device/location
110-180 px
Profile page (mobile)
110px circle
Profile page (desktop)
150px circle
Stories tray
56px circle
Feed posts
32px circle
Comments
24px circle
DM inbox
56px circle
Important elements should be in the center since corners get cropped to a circle
Your photo appears very small—avoid busy backgrounds or tiny details
Bright, well-lit photos look better when compressed to small sizes
Strong contrast helps your profile picture stand out in feeds and Stories
Updating your profile?
A great profile picture attracts new followers. Track who follows and unfollows to measure your profile's impact.
Check your followersThe best size is 1080 x 1080 pixels. While Instagram displays profile pictures much smaller (110-180px depending on location), uploading at 1080px ensures crisp display on high-resolution screens and when users tap to enlarge your photo.
Your image is likely too small (under 320px) or heavily compressed. Upload a higher resolution image (at least 1080x1080px), use PNG format for graphics, ensure good lighting in photos, and avoid zooming in excessively when cropping.
Yes, but Instagram will ask you to crop it to a square. Then it displays as a circle, so the corners of the square are also cut off. For best results, start with a square image with important content centered.
Yes, Instagram compresses all uploaded images. To minimize quality loss: upload at 1080x1080px, use JPG for photos (quality 80%+) or PNG for graphics, keep the original file under 5MB, and ensure good lighting/contrast.
Go to your profile → 'Edit profile' → Tap your current profile picture → Choose 'New profile photo' → Select from your gallery or take a new photo → Adjust crop → Save.
Yes. Go to Edit profile → Tap your profile picture → Select 'Remove current photo'. Your profile will show Instagram's default avatar (gray person silhouette) until you upload a new picture.
For photos of people: JPG format at high quality. For logos, graphics, or images with text: PNG format to preserve sharp edges. Both work well; choose based on your image type.
Instagram displays profile pictures at different sizes depending on context (profile page vs. comments vs. Stories). The quality also varies based on screen resolution. Always upload at 1080x1080px to ensure it looks good everywhere.