Facebook’s photo cropping algorithm has frustrated many users over the years. The system automatically crops photos uploaded to FB to highlight the most important part of the image. However, this doesn’t always work as intended, often cropping out important parts of a photo.
Luckily, there are a few different ways to prevent Facebook from cropping your photos so they appear unaltered in the news feed. In this article, we’ll go over the causes of FB’s cropping behavior and the steps you can take to stop cropped photos on Facebook.
Why Does Facebook Crop My Photos?
Facebook introduced auto photo cropping years ago as a way to improve the user experience. Here’s a quick overview of why the cropping happens:
- Cropped photos load faster – FB’s algorithm crops images to highlight the most “important” parts and allow news feed photos to load quicker.
- Emphasize key subjects – Automated cropping aims to bring main photo subjects into focus so they stand out in the news feed.
- Avoid awkward cuts – The algorithm attempts to detect edges of a photo and make cuts along those lines to avoid oddly chopped images.
So in theory, FB cropping provides a better viewing experience by speeding up load times and drawing eyes to key focal points. But in practice, the algorithm doesn’t work perfectly.
Common Facebook Photo Cropping Problems
Here are some of the most frequent complaints about Facebook’s auto photo cropping:
- Chops off people’s heads – Bad cropping often cuts off heads and limbs in group photos.
- Ruins landscape shots – Wide landscape images get awkwardly zoomed and cropped.
- Misses subject focus – The algorithm fails to identify the true main subject in a photo.
- Enlarges background elements – Main subjects get shrunk while backgrounds elements get blown up.
Facebook is working to improve its cropping intelligence to address these pain points. But in the meantime, what can you do to prevent poor cropping of your uploads?
How to Stop Facebook From Cropping Photos
Luckily, Facebook provides a couple options to disable auto-cropping and preserve your original photos. Here are a few methods to stop cropped photos on Facebook:
Upload in High Resolution
One of the easiest ways to avoid cropping is to upload photos in high resolution. Facebook’s algorithm actually avoids cropping high res images in most cases.
If possible, upload photos that are at least 720 pixels wide. This gives the algorithm more image data to work with, reducing the need for cropping. Photos with widths under 720 pixels are more likely to get cropped.
Uploading high res photos beats cropping while also taking advantage of FB’s compression. This means your photos will look great on high pixel density mobile screens.
Adjust Image Dimensions
You can outsmart Facebook’s algorithm by adjusting photo dimensions before uploading. For example:
- For portraits, set the image width to 1080 pixels.
- For landscape shots, set the height to 1080 pixels.
By manually setting the larger dimension above Facebook’s 720 pixel threshold, you decrease the chance of unwanted cropping. Just be sure the other dimension is not set way below 720 pixels.
Downscale and Re-Upload
If you notice Facebook already cropped one of your photos, there’s a workaround to re-upload the original:
- Download the cropped photo from Facebook.
- Open and edit the cropped photo in an image editor.
- Reduce both dimensions to below 720 pixels (ex: 600 x 600).
- Save the downscaled image and re-upload it to Facebook.
Since the image is now smaller than 720 pixels wide, Facebook will pull the original again when generating the news feed preview.
Upload Directly in Posts
You can avoid cropping by uploading photos directly when creating posts instead of pre-uploading to your albums. Add photos to your status updates and events the same way you upload a profile pic.
Facebook detects these are fresh uploads so it pulls the original image. The downside is you have to repeatedly upload when re-sharing the photo. Photos added to albums get reused.
Use Pre-Cropped Thumbnails
For consistent cropping, pre-crop your photos to the dimensions you want before uploading:
- Portraits – 1080 x 1350 pixels
- Landscapes – 1080 x 566 pixels
Cropping the thumbnails yourself prevents Facebook’s algorithm from slicing and dicing as it sees fit.
Should You Disable Facebook Photo Cropping?
Before disabling FB’s auto-cropping, consider these benefits of keeping it enabled:
- Faster performance – Cropped files means faster load times.
- Better mobile experience – Cropping optimizes photos for smaller screens.
- Less work for you – The convenience of automatic cropping.
If these advantages outweigh the risk of bad cropping, you may want to allow Facebook to continue intelligently cropping your uploads.
But if you have Photography Pages that showcase your best shots, preventing poor cropping is probably worth the extra effort. Your photos are displayed as intended without messy cuts.
How Does Facebook Pick Cropping Points?
Facebook utilizes a complex computer vision algorithm to identify key points of interest and determine the optimal crop area. Here are some things the algorithm looks for:
- Faces – Face detection identifies people and attempts to focus on facial features.
- Focus – Areas of sharp focus often signify important subjects.
- Size – Larger objects in a photo tend to be subjects of interest.
- Position – Subjects near the center attract more focus.
- Motion – Moving objects grab viewer attention.
In addition to these visual cues, Facebook’s AI was trained on millions of photos to learn typical cropping patterns. It aims to crop based on best practices from photography experts.
But as we all know, AI is far from perfect. Especially when it comes to subjective things like photographic composition.
Does Facebook Notify You of Cropped Photos?
Unlike other platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, Facebook unfortunately does not notify users when a photo is cropped. This lack of transparency means you won’t know if it was cropped until you view the post live on Facebook.
The only way to tell immediately is to check the dimensions of the uploaded photo in your albums. If the width or height is lower than your original, then cropping occurred.
Many users have requested Facebook add cropping alerts and notifications. But so far Facebook has not provided any post upload warnings when photos get automatically cropped.
Can You Disable Auto-Cropping Site-Wide?
There is no global setting in Facebook to fully disable auto photo cropping throughout the platform. The automatic cropping happens by default for all users.
The only way to prevent cropping is to take steps on individual photos using the methods mentioned previously in this article. There is no blanket option to disable cropping site-wide or for entire albums.
This type of global toggle would be a great feature request for Facebook to consider. But the company seems committed to auto-cropping for the foreseeable future.
Does Facebook Compress Photos?
Yes, Facebook compresses photos to save space and improve performance. This compression happens in tandem with automated cropping.
Uploaded photos are compressed to a lower file size before generating the preview images. Without compression, FB would consume way more storage space and bandwidth.
The photo compression involves stripping out metadata and reducing resolution on the largest dimension down to 720 pixels max. Compression aims to shrink files without noticeably sacrificing visual quality.
Facebook’s photo compression and cropping work together to optimize images for fast, data-efficient loading in the news feed. The combined algorithms save storage, speed up performance, and enhance viewing on mobile.
Does Facebook Degrade Photo Quality?
Facebook’s compression algorithm is designed to reduce file sizes without degrading image quality to an obvious, unaesthetic level. However, some visual downsides of the compression include:
- Softening of details and textures
- Increased artifacts and noise
- Banding in gradients
- Removal of metadata
For most casual snapshots, Facebook’s compression maintains perfectly acceptable visual quality. But the technical image quality reduction may be unacceptable for professional photographers.
To avoid quality loss, you can upload images scaled down to Facebook’s maximum dimensions yourself. This prevents Facebook’s algorithm from tampering with your pristine photos.
Does Facebook Alter Original Uploads?
No, Facebook does not modify or alter the originally uploaded image files. Your original uploads remain intact on Facebook’s servers at their maximum fidelity.
The auto-cropping and compression happens on Facebook’s end when generating preview images for the news feed and mobile apps. But it does not destructive edit or filter the originally uploaded photos.
You can always access the pristine versions in your Facebook albums or download your original uploads. Facebook only crops and compresses versions used for public feeds, but leaves your core uploads untouched.
Can You Adjust Auto-Cropping for Ads?
Facebook Pages can boost posts as ads, which also uses the auto-cropping and compression algorithms.
But Pages have special options to prevent undesirable cropping and quality loss for their ads:
- Upload photos in high resolution (2,048 x 2,048 pixels).
- Manually crop photos ahead of time.
- Use the “Freeform” ad cropping tool for custom crops.
Adjusting crops for ads requires downloading the images, pre-cropping, then re-uploading. It takes more effort but gives full control over how images are displayed as ads.
What Photo File Types Does Facebook Support?
Facebook supports common image file types including:
- JPEG / JPG
- GIF
- PNG
- BMP
- TIFF
- ICO
For best compatibility and performance, JPEGs are recommended. Facebook compresses JPEG photos with minimal quality loss.
PNGs with transparency are also great for images with shaped backgrounds. GIFs are best for short animated clips and memes.
Avoid super large multi-megabyte TIFFs and BMPs which are inefficient for Facebook’s platform. Most smartphones shoot standard JPEGs which offer the best balance.
Should You Upload Photos from Mobile or Desktop?
Uploading directly from smartphones results in the highest quality photos on Facebook, for two reasons:
- No recompression needed – Mobile photos are already compressed, so Facebook doesn’t need to further compress uploads from phones.
- Native resolutions – Mobile photos match Facebook’s ideal 720 pixel width for cropping avoidance.
Desktop uploads lead to higher compression and downscaling. For best quality, upload photos straight from your mobile device’s camera roll.
Do Photos Lose Quality When Downloaded from Facebook?
When you download photos from Facebook, you get the original upload quality, not the compressed news feed version.
Downloading pulls the full-fidelity version you initially uploaded. So there should be no inherent quality loss or degradation when saving photos from Facebook.
If quality loss is noticeable, it likely occurred on the initial upload if you uploaded low quality versions or used desktop. But Facebook itself doesn’t damage quality when pulling downloads of your uploads.
How Can You Upload Higher Quality Photos to Facebook?
To squeeze the highest possible visual quality out of Facebook, follow these best practices:
- Upload from mobile at native resolution.
- Use optimal 720p widths for landscape/portrait.
- Upload uncropped originals at 2048 x 2048 pixels.
- Use JPEG file format sized under 30MB.
- Avoid excessive editing prior to upload.
With high res original JPEGs, Facebook’s lossy compression still maintains great visual quality. Plus, higher resolutions safeguard against unwanted cropping.
Should You Upload Edited or Original Photos?
Lightly edited photos optimized for Facebook tend to look best:
- Apply minor brightness, contrast, and color adjustments.
- Do mild touch-ups like blemish removal.
- Sharpen detail and vibrance a touch.
- Apply minimal filters if desired.
- Frame and crop creatively.
Avoid going overboard with editing before Facebook compression. Heavy handed HDR, filtering, skin smoothing, and saturation boosts often degrade poorly.
When in doubt, stick to minor tweaks optimized to withstand compression. Let Facebook’s algorithms do the heavy image processing lifting.
Should You Pre-Crop Photos Before Uploading?
Pre-cropping can be beneficial in certain cases:
- Cropping to specific dimensions – 720p widths for landscape/portrait orientation prevents unwanted cropping.
- Trimming boring edges – Tastefully framing the subject minimizes excessive cropping.
- Designing thumbnails – Pre-cropping images to use as avatar, cover photo, etc.
But take care not to over crop. Aggressive cropping that chops out too much context can backfire. Leave some padding around key subjects.
Also don’t pre-crop just to outwit Facebook’s algorithm, as the system usually gets it right. Light cropping with the context above is best.
Should You Use Facebook’s Built-In Editing Tools?
Facebook has built-in editing tools accessible from the upload workflow. These include:
- Cropping/orientation
- Brightness
- Contrast
- Color
- Vignette
- Sharpness
- Blur
The editing tools are handy for quick fixes and tweaks before uploading. They can improve photos with poorly exposed highlights or shadows and colors.
But overusing the image adjustments often backfires. Subtle improvement is key, as dramatic changes degrade awkwardly when compressed.
For best results, do primary edits beforehand in Photoshop. Use Facebook’s tools sparingly for finishing touches.
Conclusion
Preventing Facebook’s algorithms from ruining your pictures takes a bit more care. But following the tips in this guide, you can protect photos from unwanted cropping and quality loss.
With high resolution original JPEGs sized properly, you can outsmart the cropping system. And minimal editing optimized for compression preserves stunning images that impress in feeds.
Paying attention to a few simple details when uploading goes a long way. Your photos will display beautifully without you having to fight Facebook’s algorithms.