Your Mac's lock screen shows a background image, not a profile picture

Your Mac's lock screen displays a background image — called wallpaper — not a profile picture the way your user account does. If you want to change what appears on your lock screen, you are changing the lock screen wallpaper, which is the full background image that displays before you enter your password. The steps differ depending on whether you are running macOS Ventura, Sonoma, or an earlier version, because Apple moved this setting in recent updates.

The quickest route is through System Settings, where you can upload any image from your computer or choose from Apple's built-in options. The whole process takes under two minutes once you have decided which image you want to use. You can use any photo, screenshot, or downloaded image as long as it is in a common format like JPG or PNG.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Mac's lock screen background is controlled through System Settings under Lock Screen, not through your user account picture settings.
  • You can use any image file on your computer — a photo, a screenshot, or a downloaded image — as long as it is in a common format like JPG or PNG.
  • On macOS Ventura and Sonoma, the Lock Screen settings are in System Settings; on older versions, the option is under Desktop & Screen Saver.
  • Once you set a lock screen image, it will display every time your Mac locks or you restart, until you change it again.

How to change the lock screen background on macOS Ventura or Sonoma

Open System Settings by clicking the Apple menu in the top-left corner and selecting System Settings. Then click Lock Screen in the left sidebar — it appears near the top of the list, below General. You will see a preview of your current lock screen at the top of the window.

Below the preview, you have two options: use one of Apple's built-in wallpapers, or add your own image. To use a built-in option, click one of the thumbnail images under the preview. To use your own photo, click the plus sign (+) button at the bottom of the preview area, then navigate to the image file on your computer and click Open. The image will appear on your lock screen the next time your Mac locks.

How to change the lock screen background on macOS Monterey or earlier

Open System Settings and click Desktop & Screen Saver in the left sidebar. At the top of the window, click the Lock Screen tab. You will see a list of built-in images on the left side; click any one to preview it on the right side of the window.

To use your own image, click the plus sign (+) button at the bottom of the list, find your image file on your computer, and click Open. Close System Settings when you are done. Your new lock screen image will display the next time your Mac locks or you restart.

What image formats work best

Your Mac accepts JPG, PNG, HEIF, and TIFF image files for lock screen backgrounds. Most photos you take with your iPhone or read from the internet are JPG or PNG, so you likely will not need to convert anything. If you have an image in a different format and want to use it, you can open it in Preview (the built-in image viewer on your Mac), then go to File > Export and save it as a JPG or PNG.

Image size does not matter much — your Mac will scale the image to fit your screen. However, very small images (under 800 pixels wide) may look blurry when enlarged. If you are using a screenshot or a small photo, consider using a larger image instead for the sharpest result on your lock screen.

Troubleshooting: the image does not appear on your lock screen

If you set a new lock screen image but it does not show up, the most common reason is that your Mac has not locked yet since you made the change. Lock your Mac manually by pressing Control + Command + Q, or wait for it to lock automatically based on your sleep settings. The new image should appear the next time the lock screen displays.

If the image still does not appear after locking, go back to System Settings and check that your image is still selected — sometimes the setting reverts if there was a brief connection issue while you were selecting the file. If the image file itself is corrupted or in an unsupported format, try a different image to confirm the problem is with that specific file, not with your Mac's settings.

How to use a photo from your Photos app as your lock screen

You do not need to export a photo from Photos to use it as your lock screen. In System Settings under Lock Screen (or Desktop & Screen Saver on older macOS), click the plus sign (+) button and navigate to your Pictures folder. Open the Photos Library folder inside it, then open the Masters folder. Find the photo you want and click Open. Your Mac will add it to your lock screen when ready.

Alternatively, you can open the Photos app, find the image you want, right-click it, and select Set as Desktop Picture or Set as Lock Screen Picture (the exact wording depends on your macOS version). This method is faster if you already know which photo you want to use and do not want to navigate through folders.

Resetting your lock screen to the default Apple wallpaper

If you want to go back to one of Apple's original lock screen images, open System Settings and go to Lock Screen. Click one of the thumbnail images under the preview area — these are all Apple's built-in options. Your lock screen will change to that image when ready.

You can cycle through different built-in images by clicking different thumbnails until you find one you like. Apple includes seasonal and themed wallpapers that change with updates, so you may see new options after you update macOS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different lock screen image on each of my user accounts?

Yes. Each user account on your Mac has its own lock screen settings. When you log in to a different account and change the lock screen image through System Settings, it only affects that account. Other users will see their own lock screen images when they lock or restart.

Will my lock screen image change if I update macOS?

No. Your custom lock screen image will remain in place after a macOS update. However, if you were using one of Apple's built-in wallpapers and Apple removes it in a new version, your Mac may revert to a default image. This is rare, but if it happens, you can straightforward select a different built-in image or upload your own.

Can I set a different image for the login screen and the lock screen?

On recent macOS versions, the login screen and lock screen use the same image. You cannot set them separately. On older versions of macOS, they were controlled through different settings, but Apple unified them in Ventura and later.

What happens to my lock screen image if I delete the original file from my computer?

If you delete the image file after setting it as your lock screen, your Mac will keep displaying it on the lock screen. The image is stored in your system, not linked to the original file. You can safely delete the original file without affecting your lock screen.