How to Change Uber Profile Picture for Riders and Drivers

The circle in your Uber menu is where a new profile picture starts, and the tap does not work the same way on every account. You can change it in the rider app when this login has never had a driver account. A driver account you never activated still blocks that tap.

A rider picture is optional and is not shown to the driver. You can request a ride with the circle left blank. A driver picture is the face riders and delivery customers use to recognize you, so Uber treats a change as an identity update.

The steps below cover the rider tap, the driver-account block, the request Uber will accept, and what to check when the new photo does not show.

Adding a Photo From the Uber Rider Menu

Open the Uber app and go to the menu section. Uber’s rider help tells you to tap your photo or the blank circle there when you want to add a picture or replace the one already saved. After the tap, follow the prompts on the screen and let the app finish saving before you leave that screen.

WHERE TO TAP

• The menu: The control sits in the menu section of the app, on the photo or the empty circle, rather than on a separate account website.
• Your photo: Tap the face already showing if you are replacing one, or the blank circle if you have never added a picture.
• The prompts: Finish whatever the app asks for next, which is how the new picture gets onto the account.

Uber states that your profile picture is not visible to the driver and is not required for you to request a ride. An empty circle is a normal rider account, and it does not stop a booking. The picture is there if you want one on your own profile, not so the driver can match your face at the curb.

If the circle does nothing, or the app will not keep the new face, stop tapping it. Uber’s upload help says that stall can mean a driver account is linked to this rider login, including a driver signup that was never activated. That is a different path, and the rider menu will not finish the job.

How to Change Uber Profile Picture With a Driver Account

Riders who also have a driver account have to change the profile photo in the driver app. Uber applies that rule if you ever created the driver account, even when you never activated it and never took a trip. An abandoned signup on this same login is enough to lock the rider menu.

If you signed up to drive, sent a license, and then never went online, you are in the second row even if the only app you open is the rider app. Chasing a fix inside the rider menu does not move the photo while that driver account is attached. Sign in to the driver app with the same login and start the change there.

The new photo does not appear the moment you send it. Uber says the profile photo must be approved before it shows on your account, the approval typically takes 2 hours, and the approved photo then updates on both your rider and driver accounts. One face serves the rider login and the driver login, so the picture passengers use to recognize you is the same file as the one on your rider profile.

That shared file is why a casual selfie is a poor choice once a driver account exists. Riders, and people ordering food, see the driver profile photo in the app so they can recognize you. The optional rider icon and this checked face are not the same kind of picture, even though Uber stores the approved one on both accounts.

How to Request a New Driver Profile Photo

After Uber has verified a driver photo, you can change it only in limited cases. Use Uber’s page to update a driver profile photo when your appearance has changed enough that you would be hard to recognize. Uber’s examples are specific.

• Significant weight changes
• Facial deformation
• Medical conditions
• Plastic or cosmetic surgery

Uber’s photo-check help sends you through the Help Center in this order: Account and app, then Change account settings, then Update profile photo. Fill out the request and say what changed. Uber also says profile photos cannot be deleted or removed, so clearing the circle is not an option on a driver account the way leaving it blank is on a rider-only account.

WHAT THE REQUEST DOES

• The form photo: Uber says a photo you submit on that request is used for security validation and is not, by itself, the picture that updates in the app.
• The live photo: If the request is approved, the app asks you to take a new photo, and that capture is the one used as your profile picture.
• Your gallery: You cannot upload a photo from your gallery for this update, because the picture has to be taken in real time through the app.

Uber asks you to respond quickly on that form, so do not leave it sitting once you have opened it. Choose a shot you are willing to keep, because other users rely on it to recognize you, and you cannot simply delete it later if you dislike it. At signup, some places ask you to upload a current picture instead of taking a selfie; that signup option is not the same as this later update, which Uber ties to a live capture in the app.

Uber also crops profile photos on its own so the frame sits on the face. If the crop is off-center, or your appearance has changed since the original photo, the help request is how you ask for a new crop or a new picture. Shooting another selfie in the rider app does not override a crop Uber has already applied to a driver photo.

What Does Uber Accept in a Profile Photo?

Because riders and eaters see this photo, Uber wants a plain, recognizable face rather than a styled shot. The driver app asks you to take a photo of yourself, like a selfie, with your face easy to see. These are the elements Uber lists for a good profile photo.

PHOTO RULES UBER LISTS

• No cover-up: No hats or sunglasses, while eyeglasses and religious garments are allowed.
• The frame: Show your full face and the top of your shoulders, with your face centered and looking straight at the camera.
• The light: Use good lighting, and do not send a blurry shot.
• One person: You should be the only person in the photo.
• No edits: No filters, no photo of a photo, and no photoshopped image.

On the capture screen, keep your face and neck inside the white guidelines and look straight ahead. Turn a light on if the room is dark, hold the phone steady, and keep other people out of the background. Uber also says your face should not be covered by a hat, sunglasses, or a scarf, which sits alongside the rule that religious garments are allowed when they do not hide the face.

A photo of someone else, or a photo of another photo, is rejected. In most markets Uber asks for a video-style live photo, which it calls liveness detection, to check that the shot is a real person and has not been altered. The app may ask you to blink or nod so it can tell you are present, and Uber says that step does not use facial recognition to identify you as a unique person.

Some countries also compare your profile photo with the photo on your ID, and some compare it with photos on other accounts to catch duplicates. Photos that look like a mismatch or a duplicate go to identity specialists for a human look. Uber says it encrypts the photos you submit to verify your identity and keeps them only as long as needed, consistent with the privacy notice for identity photos.

Uber Profile Picture Problems After You Submit

A clear capture can still look wrong in the app, fail the live check, or stall the account. The fix depends on which of those happened, and retrying the rider menu is not the fix for any of them once a driver photo is on file.

A Crop That Cuts Off Your Face

Uber automatically crops profile photos to a face-focused view. If your face sits off to one side, or the crop cuts the top of your head, the stored driver photo is what people see, not the wider shot you thought you sent.

ASK FOR A RECROP

• The path: Open Account and app, then Change account settings, then Update profile photo.
• The reason: Say the photo is off-center or cropped wrong, which is a case Uber’s help page already names.

Mention that the original shot was centered if it was, so the review is about the crop rather than about a new look. A second selfie from the rider app will not replace that crop while the driver account owns the photo.

A Live Photo That Uber Rejects

A rejection here means the picture failed the live check or broke a photo rule. Uber names these failures in its photo-check help.

• The shot does not look like a real, live person.
• You submitted a photo of an existing photo.
• The picture is otherwise non-compliant, such as a blur, a covered face, or another person in the frame.

You then have to submit a good quality photo of yourself before account creation can continue. If you already drive, treat a rejected check as a failed capture, not as a finished profile change, and use the update request when your appearance is what needs to change. The selfie Uber takes to compare against your profile, including a real-time check before you go online, is an identity check. It does not replace the profile photo.

A Profile Photo That Does Not Match Your ID

If your profile photo does not look like the person on your ID, Uber sends the images to specialized support agents for a human review. When those agents decide the photos are not a match, you may not be approved for the platform and the account may be deactivated. That review is about whether the face and the document belong to the same person.

You can appeal in the app if you think the decision was wrong. On an appeal, identity specialists look at your profile photo, any other photos you submitted in this process, and your identification document. If they decide the photos are the same person, the account is reactivated. If they still decide the photos do not match, or the selfie breaks the photo rules, the account may stay deactivated.

If you are transgender or transitioning, Uber points you to a separate help article for changing the profile photo rather than leaving you on the ordinary form alone. Its photo-check page says support teams are prepared to help transgender and transitioning earners finish verification so they can keep earning in the driver app. Use that route if a changing face is why the old photo no longer fits, and contact Uber support in the app if a check fails and you believe the system is wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Change an Uber Profile Picture on a Computer?

Uber’s rider help puts the change inside the app, as a tap on your photo or the blank circle in the menu, and it does not publish a separate set of steps for a browser on a computer. If the account page on the web shows no photo control, make the change on your phone. A login that has ever had a driver account still has to make the change in the driver app.

Does a Haircut Count for an Uber Driver Photo Change?

A haircut, a new beard, or a dye job is not on Uber’s list. The reasons Uber publishes are significant weight changes, facial deformation, medical conditions, and plastic or cosmetic surgery, the kinds of changes that would leave you hard to recognize. You can still say if passengers can no longer match you to the old photo, and a bad crop is its own request, but a style update alone is not one of the examples Uber prints.

How Does Uber Compare Photos in Europe and the UK?

In the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, you can have your photo compared with facial recognition or without it. If you decline the technology, specialists compare your profile picture and your ID by hand. Uber also does not run the check that looks for the same face across other accounts in the EU, where that biometric processing is prohibited.

Do Uber Eats Orders Use a Separate Profile Photo?

No separate Uber Eats photo is described in Uber’s driver help. Riders and people ordering food see the driver profile photo in the app while you are on the trip or the delivery. The optional picture on an account used only to request rides is a different image, and that one is not shown to the driver.

A driver photo stays on the account, because Uber’s help says those photos cannot be deleted or removed. If you only ride, an empty circle is enough for booking. If you drive or deliver, the live photo you take after Uber approves the request is the face riders and delivery customers use until a later request is accepted.

Disclaimer: This guide explains Uber’s published steps for a profile picture and is informational only. It is not a message from Uber support, and it is not a promise that a photo will pass an identity check or keep a driver account active. Use the help section in the Uber app, or contact Uber support, before you rely on a photo change to go online or to request rides. The steps and the review time reflect Uber’s help pages cited here, and Uber can change them.