Facebook is bringing gif-style video profile pictures

fb profile video

The social network, Facebook announced it's testing a new feature called profile videos, which will let users upload seven-second
clips instead of a static avatar. It has rolled out a huge set of changes to profile pictures – including turning them into videos which will play every time someone’s page is opened.

Profile videos will only loop when someone visit's the user's profile page — they won't appear when that person's status update shows up in your news feed. Instead, you'll see a frame for the video the user selects. Meanwhile, audio only plays in full-view mode when someone taps into the video; it won't play when someone is viewing your profile.

Facebook has also made some small changes to how profile pages appear, including putting pictures and mutual friends higher up on the pages. Profile photos (and videos) will also now appear in the middle of the page rather than off to the side.

Facebook is also experimenting with allowing users to set up a temporary version of a profile picture that automatically reverts back to their previous profile picture after a certain time. The company is also adding a one-line bio field.

When the feature has been rolled out to your profile, you'll see a tutorial at the top of your account that walks you through how to use it.

The features will first be tested with “a small number of iPhone users in the UK and California”, but Facebook said that it will be rolling them out to more people “soon”.

How to get started

Once you get the profile videos feature, visit your profile page and select "Take a New Profile Video" or "Upload Video or Photo" within the avatar section.

If you want to take a profile video directly via the feature, you'll need your phone. Tap the record button to start and it'll countdown (3, 2, 1...) and hit the button again to see your seven-second video creation.

Then to upload a video from your camera roll, click "Upload From Camera Roll" and select the one you want. It will preview to make sure you like what you see. Note: It can't exceed seven seconds, but it can be less. You'll need to trim the clip in another app if you want to use a longer video.