To remove your Google profile picture, open the photo controls in your Google account, choose Remove and confirm the change. You do not need to delete the account. The same controls usually offer a Change option if you would prefer a different image instead.
This guide covers desktop, Android, iPhone and iPad. Before starting, check the email address of the account you are editing. If you use several Google accounts, similar profile pictures can make it easy to change the wrong one.
Remove your Google account photo on desktop
- Sign in through Accounts.Google.com and open your Google Account.
- Select Personal info, then the profile-picture control under your basic information.
- Open the current picture and select Remove when offered.
- Confirm the action shown on screen, then return to the account overview to check the result.
The following screenshots illustrate the desktop route from an earlier interface. Google may change the layout, so use the text labels on your current screen rather than expecting identical button positions.
On iPhone and iPad
Open a Google app such as Gmail, tap your profile picture or initial, and choose Manage your Google Account. From there, open Personal info and the profile-picture controls. Choose Remove and follow the confirmation shown.
If you do not use a Google app, you can open your Google Account in a browser instead. Installing an additional app is unnecessary solely for this change. Check the signed-in email address again if the browser and app normally use different accounts.
These older mobile screenshots show the previous settings route and the picture-removal control. The current route through your profile picture can be shorter than the old three-line menu sequence.
On an Android phone or tablet
Open your Google Account, either from a Google app’s profile menu or through the account controls available in the phone’s settings. Go to Personal info and select your profile picture. Use Remove if you want the current photo taken off the profile, or Change if you want to replace it.
Android manufacturers organise their settings differently. If the phone’s settings route does not match an older guide, opening your Google Account in a browser provides another route. Do not remove the whole Google account from the device merely because you cannot find its photo control.
Why the old photo may still appear
Google says a changed name or picture can take a few days to appear across its products. Check the central account page first. If that page reflects your change while another app still shows the old image, allow time for the other view to update.
Try reopening the app or signing out and back in when appropriate. Before signing out, make sure you know how to sign in again. Clearing cookies can also sign you out of other sites, so it is not a consequence-free first step for a cosmetic update.
Compare the same account in each place. A browser profile icon, a Google Account picture and an image stored by someone in their own contacts need not all be controlled by the same setting. Identify where the old image appears before repeating the removal.
Removing the current picture is not deleting every copy
Do not assume that removing a profile photo erases every copy of that image from Google’s systems or from other people’s devices. The earlier claim that profile pictures are not stored on a server was incorrect. Removing the current profile image changes its use on the account; it is not a promise of universal erasure.
Google’s account controls may also show past profile pictures. Review those separately if that is your concern, and distinguish them from original photos in your own photo library. Avoid deleting a valued original when your only aim is to stop displaying it as an avatar.
Work, school and service-specific profiles
If the interface says your picture is managed by your organisation, contact the account administrator. A work or school account can have different profile-editing permissions from a personal account. Do not try to bypass those controls with an unfamiliar third-party service.
Google also explains that changing your Google Account picture does not change your YouTube channel picture. If the image you want to remove belongs to a channel, use the channel’s own branding controls. Check the specific service before concluding that the account update has failed.
Check the outcome without changing unrelated details
After the removal, reopen the account page and inspect the profile area. A default image or initial can replace the uploaded photograph. Leave your name, recovery information and other settings alone unless you intend to change them too.
If you are preparing a screenshot to ask for help, crop or cover email addresses and other private details. Explain which device you used, whether the account is personal or managed, and which screen still shows the old photo. That information is more useful than repeating the same steps without identifying the mismatch.
Video showing an earlier interface
The video below demonstrates an older version of the process. Use the written instructions above for account checks and current menu differences.
This video is created by Websplaining.
