Facebook For Dummies
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Often people use their Facebook profile pictures as way to show solidarity with something that’s happening in the world. This can run the gamut from expressing sympathy for victims of a natural disaster to supporting certain legislation, to rooting for your alma mater during football season.

Frames are the easiest way to modify your profile picture for these reasons. Frames are just what they sound like, something that goes around your picture. Frames are created by outside developers, submitted to Facebook, and assuming they adhere to Facebook’s guidelines and policies, available for you to add to your profile picture. To add a frame to your profile picture, follow these steps:

  1. Hover the mouse over your existing profile picture.

    The Update Profile Picture button appears.

  2. Click the Update Profile Picture button.

    The Update Profile Picture window appears. Across the top are three options: Upload Photo, Add Frame, and Edit Thumbnail (indicated by a pencil icon). The bottom part of this menu displays photos that are already on Facebook that you may want to choose as your profile picture.

  3. Select Add Frame.

    An interface for choosing frames appears. Facebook displays the most popular frames by default on the left side of the screen. You can use the search box at the top of the interface to look for something specific like a particular sports team.

    Facebook profile frame Add a frame to make your profile picture say something.
  4. Click on any frame to see what it will look like on your profile picture.

    Whenever you choose a frame, the profile picture on the right side of the interface shows you what that frame will look like on your picture. You can click and drag your profile picture to reposition it within the frame, as well as use the slider to zoom in and out on your picture.

  5. When you’re happy with your frame, click Use as Profile Picture.

    By default, Facebook has frames expire after one week, meaning that after a week your picture will go back to its frame-less state. You can change how long your frame will stick around using the drop-down menu next to the blue Use as Profile Picture button.

Much like your cover photo, you can change your profile picture as often as you choose. Every photo you select as your profile picture is automatically added to the Profile Pictures album.

Your cover photo and profile picture are visible to anyone who searches for you and clicks on your name. Make sure you’re comfortable with everyone seeing these images.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Carolyn Abram was a Facebook employee when the site was young. Her work explaining how to use Facebook began then and has continued ever since. She is also a fiction writer.

Amy Karasavas is a former Facebook employee who helped launch app directories, developers’ resources, and user testing tools. She currently works as a sommelier.

Carolyn Abram was a Facebook employee when the site was young. Her work explaining how to use Facebook began then and has continued ever since. She is also a fiction writer.

Amy Karasavas is a former Facebook employee who helped launch app directories, developers’ resources, and user testing tools. She currently works as a sommelier.

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