X crops, masks, and overlays your profile imagery in ways that are easy to get wrong — the avatar becomes a circle, the bio covers the banner’s bottom, and the timeline crops in-post images. This lookup gives you the exact upload size, the safe crop, and the right export settings for each asset.
Understanding X’s profile image system
Three distinct assets build your X profile identity, and each has a unique crop and overlay behaviour that you need to design around before exporting.
Profile picture
Upload a square image at 800×800 (minimum 400×400), under 2 MB, in JPG, PNG or GIF. X immediately masks the image into a circle. The circular crop inscribes the largest circle possible inside your square, clipping all four corners. Design rule: keep your subject (a face, a logo, a character) inside an imaginary circle centred on the frame. For logos with any corner elements, move them inward at least 15% from each edge.
Header banner
The banner is 1500×500 pixels at a 3:1 ratio, up to 5 MB (2 MB for GIF). Two overlays permanently hide parts of this image:
- Your circular avatar sits in the lower-left, covering roughly a 160-pixel diameter area.
- Your display name, username, bio, and action buttons overlay the bottom 120 px of the banner across the full width.
The practical safe zone is the upper-right two-thirds of the banner — this is where you should place any logo, tagline, or key visual. The rest risks being obscured.
In-post images
For single-image posts, 1600×900 (16:9) displays in the timeline with no crop. If you post 1:1 images (for example 1200×1200), they are centre-cropped in the feed to approximately 16:9, but expand to the full square when tapped. Keep the subject centred for square posts.
Spec summary
| Asset | Recommended | Aspect | Max size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profile picture | 800×800 | 1:1 | 2 MB | Circle-masked |
| Header banner | 1500×500 | 3:1 | 5 MB | Avatar + bio overlap |
| In-post image | 1600×900 | 16:9 | 5 MB | No crop, best option |
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Centred text cut off by the avatar — the most frequent banner error. If you put your brand name in the lower-left, the circular avatar (roughly 160px wide) will overlap it on desktop. Shift all text and logos to the upper-right safe zone.
Blurry avatar after upload — X recompresses profile images. Upload at 800×800 rather than the minimum 400×400 so the recompression starts from a larger base. PNG works better than JPG for logos because it avoids artefacts around sharp edges; JPEG works fine for photographic headshots.
Banner disappears on mobile — X’s responsive layout scales the 1500×500 banner differently on phone screens, and the top and sides may be trimmed more aggressively. Keep the most important content within the central horizontal band and test your design on a phone before publishing.
Animated GIF avatars — X supports GIF avatars for Premium subscribers. Keep the GIF under 2 MB and ensure the animation loop does not start with a blank frame, which looks like a broken image before the GIF loads.
Tips
- Design your 1500×500 header with the logo or message in the upper-right two-thirds.
- For the avatar, keep your face or mark centred and away from the corners so the circular mask does not clip it.
- Export logos and text-heavy banners as PNG for sharp edges; use high-quality JPG for photographic backgrounds.
- Always preview on mobile after uploading — the responsive crop can differ significantly from the desktop view.