I am having an issue, I need help with my profile picture for iMessage. It’s not letting me update it. Also it is not letting me update my photo for my apple account. What can I do? Please help!
iPhone 14, iOS 26
iMessage uses whatever picture is set in your Contacts app in the contact set as "My Card".
Also note, this can be overridden on the recipients side with whatever picture they have for you in their Contacts App, and only works for recipients with Apple devices. Recipients on Android can determine what picture they see.
You can change it directly in the settings for the Messages app in Settings ➜ Apps ➜ Messages ➜ Share Name and Photo
Your Apple Account uses that same picture as above. You can change it from either directly in the Account Settings in the Settings App or the My Card contact in the Contacts App.
What issue are you having when you try to change it any of the locations described above?
You can also change your Apple Account picture at ICloud.com. It usually works pretty reliably.
Otherwise, it is as Phil0124 writes. Your Apple Account picture reflects your profile picture in iMessages. If you change your profile picture in iMessages, your Apple Account picture will also change.
Unable to update iMessage and Apple ID profile photo
