Changing Your Windows 8 Account Picture

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 16, 2017)

Not only does Windows try to know who you are, but it also gives you the ability to aid its knowledge-gathering quest by providing a picture to go along with your account. Your picture doesn't have to be of you, however. You might want to use a picture that expresses your personality in some way or something that features a favorite object, place, or event.

In short, any picture can be associated with your account. In order to change your account picture, simply click your account name (typically your e-mail address) in the upper-right corner of the Start screen. Windows displays a few options; you should choose Change Account Picture. In short order you are faced with the Personalize area of the PC Settings screen. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Changing your account picture.

There are three ways you can set the picture:

  • Browse. Click this button to browser your system for an existing picture you want to use.
  • Camera. Click this button to view any pictures available through a camera. (This is most often used on tablets or phones, even though the option is also available on desktop systems.)
  • People. Click this button to look through pictures associated with your contacts and other people accessible through your connections.

Once you've located a picture you want to use, just select it and click the appropriate button. (For instance, the button my be labeled "Use Image" or "Insert" or "Choose.") Windows associates the picture with your account and displays it whenever your account information is visible.

 This tip (13151) applies to Windows 8.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Setting the Distance between Text and Borders

Add a border around a piece of text (such as a paragraph), and Word makes some assumptions about the placement of that ...

Discover More

Moving a Worksheet

Need to move a worksheet from one place to another in the same workbook? Here are two easy ways to make the move.

Discover More

Adding Page Borders to a Printout

Need a full-page border on your Excel printouts? It's not as easy to get one as you might wish. There are a few ways you ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Changing How User Account Control Works

The User Account Control (UAC) model allows an administrator to control when (or if) they are to be notified when a ...

Discover More

Getting a List of User Accounts

Part of managing a computer system that is shared by multiple people is to keep track of all the user accounts on that ...

Discover More

Deleting a User Account

Windows allows you to define individual user accounts for different people using a computer. If a person no longer needs ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips