Setting your profile picture to “only me” on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. means that your profile picture will only be visible to you when you are logged into your account. Other people who visit your profile will not be able to see your profile picture. This setting provides more privacy and control over who gets to see your profile picture.
There are a few key things that happen when you set your profile picture to “only me”:
Your profile picture is hidden from others
The most obvious effect is that your profile picture will be hidden from other people’s views. When someone visits your profile, they will see a generic silhouette or avatar icon instead of your actual profile photo. This allows you to keep your profile picture private while still having a profile photo set.
You maintain access to your profile photo
Even though others can’t see it, setting your profile to “only me” does not remove your photo or prevent you from being able to view it. When you are logged into your account and viewing your own profile, you will still see your chosen profile picture. This gives you access to your picture while hiding it from others.
Some platforms show a blank or generic picture
On some social media sites like Facebook, setting your profile to “only me” will display a completely blank square or a generic silhouette icon to other people who visit your profile. On other platforms like Instagram, it shows your username or a default icon. So the exact placeholder image varies.
People will still see your name and bio info
Hiding your profile picture does not hide everything on your profile. Your name, bio info, posts, friends list, and other details will still be visible to those who visit your profile. Only your profile photo is hidden, everything else remains unchanged and public.
You remain searchable
Making your profile picture private does not affect your visibility in searches. People can still find and view your profile, they just won’t see your profile picture. So you maintain the same discoverability while controlling photo access.
Why Would You Want to Set Your Profile to “Only Me”?
There are a few key reasons why people choose to set their social media profile pictures to be viewable “only to me”:
Enhanced Privacy
For those who want more privacy online, hiding your profile photo from public viewing lets you retain more control over your image and identity. You get to choose who sees your face instead of it being viewable to all.
Avoid Unwanted Attention
Some users want to avoid attracting excessive attention or friend requests from strangers online. Making your profile photo private can help limit this unwanted attention.
Maintain Access for Yourself
You may want to keep using a specific profile photo for your own viewing while limiting broader access. Setting it to “only me” lets you maintain personal access to the picture you want.
Temporary Change
You can change your profile photo visibility to “only me” for a short period of time if desired, like when altering photos or taking a break from public sharing. The setting can be reversed at any time.
Avoid Image Misuse
Another motivation can be preventing others from downloading, sharing or misusing your profile picture without consent. This grants you more control.
Job-Related Reasons
Some users may hide their profile pictures to maintain professionalism for job searches or other career-related activities where they want to limit personal photo access.
What Can People See If You Set Profile Photo to “Only Me”?
The exact placeholder image or profile icon that others see in place of your hidden profile picture depends on the platform:
On Facebook, your profile picture will appear as a plain gray square with no photo if set to “Only Me.” Friends will still see your name and any cover photo you have set.
Instagram uses a default silhouette icon of a person’s head and shoulders if you hide your profile photo. Your Instagram username and bio remain visible.
Twitter replaces hidden profile photos with a default egg icon. It contains no details of what you actually look like. Your Twitter handle is still displayed.
With a hidden profile picture, LinkedIn shows a silhouette icon of a person’s head and shoulders, similar to Instagram. Your name and other profile details stay visible.
Snapchat
On Snapchat, an outline of a person’s head and shoulders is displayed in place of your profile picture if it is set to private. Friends still see your Snapchat Bitmoji if you have one set.
So in summary, a generic icon or blank image replaces your actual photo across most platforms, while still showing your name and profile.
Pros of Making Your Profile Photo “Only Me”
There are some advantages to making your profile pictures visible only to yourself, including:
Increased Privacy
As mentioned earlier, this settings greatly enhances privacy and grants you more control over who can access and see your profile image.
Avoid Unwanted Attention
Hiding your photo can help minimize friend requests or messages from people you don’t know or want to interact with.
Peace of Mind
Knowing that your profile picture is not publicly accessible may give you greater peace of mind and comfort with sharing personal photos.
Maintain Personal Use
You can still access the profile picture you want for your own account while limiting broader visibility.
Reduced Image Misuse
It reduces the risk of your photo being downloaded, edited or shared without your consent.
More Professional Appearance
For career networking profiles, it gives a more uniform professional appearance to minimize personal details.
Cons of Making Your Profile Photo “Only Me”
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider:
Less Personal Connections
Hiding your photo may inhibit forming deeper personal connections online as others won’t see the “real you.”
Harder to Find and Identify You
Friends may have a harder time finding you or being sure they have the right profile without being able to see and recognize your photo.
Communicates Distance
It can signal that you wish to remain private, distant or disconnected from others online.
Easier to Fake Accounts
Scammers can more easily use fake accounts without a identifiable photo attached to them.
Loses Visual Personalization
Your profile loses the personal customization and styling you may have wanted to convey through your photo.
Can Raise Suspicions
On professional networks, it may look like you have something to hide if you are the only one without a profile photo.
Tips for Adjusting to Hidden Profile Pictures
If switching your profile photo to “only me”, here are some tips to adjust:
Gradually Phase It In
Temporarily switch back and forth for a while to ease the transition before leaving it hidden permanently.
Let Close Contacts Know
Tell close friends directly that you’ve hidden your profile picture and why to avoid confusion.
Customize Other Sections
Add other unique personalization to your profile like your cover image, bio, or header.
Engage Actively
Be more active posting content, commenting on posts, messaging friends directly etc. to stay visible.
Share Some Photos Publicly
Post some public photos (not as your profile picture) that convey your personality and interests.
Link Other Profiles
Connect your hidden profile photo account to profiles with public pictures like Twitter or LinkedIn.
Explain if Asked
If asked about your hidden photo, briefly explain your reasons to family/friends so they understand.
Can You Tell Who Visited Your Profile If Your Picture is Hidden?
On most social platforms, hiding your profile picture does not affect your ability to see profile visitors. Settings like visitor and view counts are unrelated to your profile photo privacy. For example:
Facebook has profile view insights that show who visited your profile in the last 30 days, regardless of profile photo settings.
You can still see which Instagram accounts viewed your profile in the last 30 days through your activity status dashboard.
Paid LinkedIn accounts have the ability to see who viewed their profile in the last 90 days – this remains unchanged if your profile photo is hidden.
Twitter does not have a built-in feature for seeing profile visitors. But apps like TweetNinja can show you twitter profile visits even without a visible profile picture.
So on most major platforms, your ability to track profile views is not affected by a private profile photo. The exceptions are networks like Snapchat and TikTok that have no profile view insights. Overall, hiding your picture does not make your account more anonymous or invisible to those looking at your profile.
Should You Set Your Profile Photo to “Only Me”?
Whether you should hide your profile photo boils down to your personal preferences and priorities:
Yes, if you:
- Highly value privacy and controlling access to your image
- Want to avoid undesired friend requests or attention from strangers
- Feel increased comfort sharing photos privately vs publicly
- Simply don’t want your appearance visible to all connections
No, if you:
- Want to foster deeper personal connections that can be facilitated by showing your real photo
- Do not have major privacy concerns with a public profile picture
- Are using social media mainly for professional branding and networking
- Derive enjoyment from customizing your profile with personal photos
There are reasonable benefits both for hiding and showing your profile picture based on what your priorities and goals are for your social media presence. Consider the pros and cons carefully to decide what works best for your needs.
Conclusion
Setting your social media profile picture to “Only Me” allows you to maintain personal access to photos you want to use, while hiding them from public viewing. This grants greater privacy, control, and peace of mind for those who prefer to limit broad access to their image. However, it can inhibit deeper connections, ease of identification and personalization. Carefully weigh the trade-offs against your own preferences and intentions behind using social platforms. With the right settings and adaptations, limiting your profile photo audience can be a worthwhile choice to boost privacy and comfort levels, without fully sacrificing participation in social networks.