How to crop an image to a circle
- Choose, drop or paste your image.
- Move and resize the circle over the part you want to keep.
- Pick see-through PNG or JPG with white corners.
- Download your round image.
PNG or JPG: which to choose
A circle leaves four corners outside the shape. A PNG keeps those corners see-through, so the image sits cleanly on any background: a coloured website header, a dark mode app or a slide. Choose PNG for logos, stickers and anything you will place on top of something else.
JPG cannot store see-through areas, so the corners are filled white instead. The file is usually much smaller, which suits email signatures, documents and forms with a size limit, as long as the background it sits on is white.
Profile pictures on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and other apps
Most apps show your photo in a circle but store it as a square, then round it off themselves. If you upload a square photo, the app decides what gets cut off at the corners. Cropping to a circle first lets you see exactly what people will see, so a chin, an ear or part of a logo is not lost.
- Centre your face or logo in the circle and leave a little space around it, as some apps crop tighter still.
- Start from the largest photo you have. A circle cut from a small part of a picture has fewer pixels and can look soft when enlarged.
- For a logo, use PNG so the corners stay see-through.
Rounded corners and privacy
Choose Rounded instead of Circle to keep your rectangle or square shape with softened corners, a common look for app icons, product photos and website cards. Square gives a normal crop with no rounding.
Your image is cropped in your browser and never uploaded, which matters for photos of people. Hidden metadata such as location is not copied into the file you download.
Questions people ask
How do I crop a picture into a circle?
Choose your image, move and resize the circle over the part you want, then download. The circle always stays perfectly round.
Why is my circle image a PNG?
PNG is the common format that can keep the corners see-through. If you would rather have a smaller file with white corners, choose JPG.
Can I make an oval instead of a circle?
Not as a true oval. Rounded keeps any rectangle and softens the corners, and Circle gives a perfect circle.
What size should a profile picture be?
Most apps accept anything from about 400 x 400 pixels upwards and shrink it themselves. Larger gives them more to work with, and you can resize it afterwards.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The crop happens in your browser on your own device, and the image never leaves it.