How do I crop a picture into a circle on iPhone?

The Photos app only crops rectangles. Open the Image Cropper in Safari, tap Pick image, choose Circle and save as PNG.

How do I make a circle picture with a transparent background?

Crop with Circle and save as PNG. A JPG turns the corners white.

Should I upload a circle or a square as my profile picture?

A square works, because the app rounds it for you. Use a circle PNG for slides, documents and websites.

What size should a profile picture be?

X recommends 400×400, LinkedIn asks for at least 400×400 and Facebook uses 320×320. A sharp square of 400×400 or more covers most apps.

Why are the corners white?

The circle was saved as JPG, which cannot be see-through. Save it as PNG.

Does cropping lower the quality?

Not in a way you will see. PNG is an exact copy, and JPG and WebP are saved again at high quality.

How to crop a photo into a circle for free

Crop a photo into a circle with see-through corners, preview it as a round profile picture, and download a PNG. Free and in your browser.

3 min read

Quick answer

Open the free Image Cropper, add your photo, choose Circle and move it over the face, then save as PNG so the corners stay see-through. For a profile picture you often do not need a circle at all, because apps round a square photo themselves.

Crop a photo into a circle, step by step

Open the Image Cropper and tap Choose image (on a phone, Pick image), drag it in or paste it.
Under Shape, choose Circle.
Move and size the circle over the part you want, with a little room around the head.
Check the round previews for Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Under Save as, choose PNG and tap Download image. The file ends in -cropped.

Do you need a circle for a profile picture?

Usually not. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and X all show personal profile photos as circles, and they cut the circle themselves from the square you upload. For an app, a square crop is all you need, so choose Square instead.

A see-through circle earns its keep where nothing rounds it for you: slides, documents, an email signature, a website or a sticker.

PNG, not JPG

A PNG keeps the corners outside the circle see-through, so the photo sits cleanly on any background. A JPG cannot be see-through, so its corners turn white. If you leave Save as on Same and your photo is a JPG, the circle is saved as a PNG for you.

WebP keeps the corners too, but X, LinkedIn and YouTube do not take WebP for profile pictures, so PNG is the safe choice.

Profile picture sizes by app

App	Size	Good to know
X	400 × 400	JPG, PNG or GIF, up to 2 MB.
LinkedIn	At least 400 × 400	PNG or JPG, up to 8 MB.
Facebook	320 × 320	Cropped to a circle.
YouTube	800 × 800	Shown as small as 98 × 98. Up to 15 MB.
TikTok	200 × 200 or more	TikTok itself only asks for 20 × 20.
Instagram	320 × 320 or more	Shown as a circle.

A sharp square of 400 × 400 or more covers every one of them.

Tips for a good round photo

Keep your face in the middle. The circle cuts off the corners of the square.
Leave some space above your head and around your shoulders.
Check the smallest preview. YouTube can show your picture just 98 pixels across, where a busy background or a far away face gets lost.
A plain or blurred background helps your face stand out.

Other shapes

Ratios like 4:5, 3:4, 9:16, 16:9 and 3:2, with Make it tall and Make it wide to turn them.
Exact size in pixels, inches or centimeters, for prints and forms.
Rotate left, Rotate right and Flip if the photo is the wrong way round.

PNG keeps an exact copy of the pixels you chose. JPG and WebP are saved again at high quality, so you will not see a difference. Location, camera and date details are removed, and your photo never leaves your device.