How to make your Gmail profile picture animated

Gmail doesn’t have a separate profile picture. It shows the photo from your Google Account, and a Google Account photo can be an animated GIF. So making your Gmail picture move comes down to two steps: make a GIF, then set it as your Google Account photo.

Step 1: Make the GIF

You need a square GIF that loops. It should be at least 250 × 250 pixels, and 256 × 256 is a good size. The simplest way is our animated Gmail profile picture maker:

1. Add a photo, and optionally a second image such as your logo.
2. Drag and zoom each one so it sits inside the circle.
3. Pick an animation (flip, fade and slide are the most popular) and a speed.
4. Create the GIF and download it.

It runs in your browser, so your photos aren’t uploaded anywhere.

A few choices make a real difference:

• Your first image matters most. Wherever Gmail shows your picture without animating it, people see the first frame. Make it a picture you’d be happy to use on its own.
• Slow and simple looks better. Avatars are tiny. A slow flip from your face to your logo reads clearly; a fast spin looks like an advert.
• Keep the file small. A 256 px GIF is usually well under 1 MB, which uploads quickly.

Step 2: Set it as your Google Account photo

On a computer

1. Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in.
2. Choose Personal info, then select your profile picture.
3. Choose Change, then Upload from computer, and pick your GIF.
4. Leave the crop as it is (the GIF is already square) and Save.

On a phone

1. Open the Gmail app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Tap the small camera icon on your picture, then Change.
3. Choose the GIF from your photos or files, and save.

If your phone’s gallery doesn’t show the GIF as animated, don’t worry. It will still upload as a GIF. If you’d rather avoid the phone entirely, open myaccount.google.com in your phone’s browser and follow the computer steps.

Where the animation plays, and where it doesn’t

This is the part most guides skip. Google shows your profile picture in many places, and they don’t all behave the same:

• Places that often animate: your picture in the Google Account menu, and the larger avatar next to your name when someone opens one of your emails in Gmail.
• Places that often show a still: small avatars, such as in the inbox list, and many third-party apps.
• Email apps other than Gmail (Outlook, Apple Mail and so on) usually don’t show your Google photo at all.

Google changes these details from time to time. That’s why a good animated avatar still works as a still image. It’s also why our tool always starts on your first image, held still.

Work and school accounts

Google Workspace accounts work the same way, with one catch: administrators can stop users changing their photo, or set photos centrally. Photos set by an admin from the Admin console must be JPEG or PNG, so they won’t animate. If the option to change your picture is missing or greyed out, you’ll need to ask your IT administrator.

It’s not showing up

New profile pictures can take time to appear, especially for other people. If yours hasn’t changed after a day or two, see why your Gmail profile picture isn’t updating.