The quickest way to change a highlight cover

Open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the highlight you want to change — it's the circular icon with a story preview below your bio. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a pencil icon or "Edit Highlight" button. Tap it, then tap "Edit Cover" or the cover image itself. You can choose a photo from your camera roll, take a new photo, or use one of Instagram's built-in cover templates with text and icons.

Once you've picked or created your cover image, tap "Done" or the checkmark. Instagram saves the change when ready — you don't need to confirm anything else. The new cover appears on your profile right away.

Key Takeaways

  • Tap the highlight on your profile, then tap the pencil icon to open the edit menu.
  • You can upload a photo from your phone, take a new one, or use Instagram's preset cover designs with text and emoji.
  • Instagram stores cover images at a specific size, so photos with important details in the corners may get cropped.
  • Highlight covers are visible only on your profile — they don't appear in the story itself or in followers' feeds.

Using Instagram's built-in cover templates

Instagram offers a set of pre-designed cover templates you can customize without uploading your own photo. When you tap "Edit Cover," look for a "Create" or "Design" option alongside "Upload Photo" or "Camera." This opens a template picker with categories like "Music," "Shopping," "Travel," and "Selfcare."

Select a template, and you'll see it with placeholder text. Tap the text to change it to whatever label you want — "Vacations," "Recipes," "Pets," or anything else. You can usually change the text color and sometimes the background color too. When you're done, tap "Done" and the cover saves to that highlight.

Uploading a photo from your camera roll

If you want to use an existing photo as your highlight cover, tap "Edit Cover" and select "Upload Photo" or "Choose from Library." Your camera roll opens, and you can scroll through and tap any photo. Instagram will show you a preview with a circular crop frame — this is how the cover will appear on your profile.

You can pinch to zoom in or out and drag the photo to reposition it inside the circle. Make sure any important details (faces, text, logos) are centered, because the edges will be cut off. Once the framing looks right, tap "Done" or "Next," and the cover is set.

Taking a new photo as a cover

You don't have to use an old photo. When you tap "Edit Cover," select "Camera" or "Take Photo" to open your phone's camera. Take a picture right then, and Instagram will let you crop and position it the same way as an uploaded photo. This is useful if you want a fresh image that matches the highlight's purpose — for example, a new photo of your pet for a "Pets" highlight.

After you take the shot, you'll see the circular preview frame. Adjust the zoom and position so the image looks the way you want it, then tap "Done." The photo is saved as the cover without being added to your camera roll.

Why your cover image might look cropped or cut off

Instagram displays highlight covers as circles on your profile. If you upload a square or rectangular photo, Instagram crops it to fit that circular shape. Details near the edges — especially in the corners — will disappear. This is why centering the most important part of your image matters.

If you upload a photo and the preview shows important details getting cut off, you can tap back into the edit screen and reposition the photo by dragging it or zooming. There's no way to change the circular shape itself, but you can move the photo around inside the frame until the right part is visible.

Changing covers for multiple highlights at once

If you have many highlights and want to update several covers, you'll need to do them one at a time — Instagram doesn't have a bulk edit feature. Go to your profile, tap the first highlight, tap the pencil icon, change the cover, then go back and repeat for the next one. It takes a few minutes if you have a lot of highlights, but each change saves when ready.

A faster approach is to design all your covers in advance using a photo editor or Canva, save them to your camera roll, and then upload them one by one. That way you're not deciding on the design while you're in the Instagram app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a video as a highlight cover?

No. Highlight covers must be still images — photos or designed graphics. If you upload a video file, Instagram will either reject it or use the first frame as a static image.

Will my followers see the highlight cover change?

Yes. When you change a highlight cover, all your followers see the new image on your profile. The change appears when ready and there's no way to hide it from specific people.

What size should my highlight cover image be?

Instagram accepts any size, but it crops all covers to a circle. A square image (1080 × 1080 pixels) works well because it gives you the most usable space. Rectangular images will have more of their edges cut off.

Can I revert to the original highlight cover?

If you want to go back to the first story in that highlight as the cover, tap "Edit Cover" and look for a "Default" or "Original" option. Not all highlights have this, but many do. Otherwise, you'll need to upload or create a new cover image.

Do highlight covers take up storage on my phone?

No. Covers are stored on Instagram's servers, not on your device. They don't use your phone's storage space or camera roll space.