By default, Windows 10 assigns a flat user image for every user account with a grey background and the user represented by white curves. The image can be changed later in Settings. If you change your user picture frequently, or you would like to access the appropriate options faster, you can create an Account Picture Settings shortcut in Windows 10.
The user picture will be visible every time you sign in with your Windows 10 account. It is also visible in the Start menu as a tiny round thumbnail.
Instead of the default image, you can use your favorite wallpaper or your real photo. If your account is a Microsoft Account, the image you set will be uploaded to Microsoft's servers and used in all their cloud services like OneDrive, Office 365 and so on. By default, it will be synced across all your devices.
To create an Account Picture Settings shortcut in Windows 10, do the following.
- Right click the empty space on your Desktop. Select New - Shortcut in the context menu (see the screenshot).
- In the shortcut target box, type or copy-paste the following:
explorer.exe ms-settings:yourinfo
- Use the line "Account Picture" without quotes as the name of the shortcut. Actually, you can use any name you want. Click on the Finish button when done.
- Now, right click the shortcut you created and select Properties.
- On the Shortcut tab, you can specify a new icon if you wish. Tip: You can use any icon from the c:\windows\system32\imageres.dll file.
- Click OK to apply the icon, then click OK to close the shortcut properties dialog window.
You are done! Double-click on the shortcut you just created to test it in action. It will open the following page.
Now, you can move this shortcut to any convenient location, pin it to taskbar or to Start, add to All apps or add to Quick Launch (see how to enable Quick Launch). You can also assign a global hotkey to your shortcut.
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Hello Sergey,
I deleted my profile picture and do not see it in the “Settings” window anymore. But I still do have it on the “Sign In” screen. Any idea how to get rid of that thing also here? Thanks.
Hi!
Try to delete the files mentioned in the article: https://winaero.com/blog/default-user-account-picture-windows-10/
This should help.
My “User Account Pictures”-Folder is (!) empty.