If you have noticed a white square appearing behind your profile photo in Microsoft 365, you are not alone. The good news is that nothing is wrong with your image file and this is not caused by Teams. The issue comes from where the photo is updated.
This article walks you through what is happening, why it occurs, and how to make sure your headshot displays correctly everywhere.
What Is Happening
Some users are seeing a white square appear behind their circular profile photo across Microsoft 365 apps. Even though the original headshot has a clean background, the interface adds a solid white fill inside the frame.
At first glance this may look like a system wide bug, but the behavior only appears when using a specific profile update method.
What Causes the White Background
The white background is added only when you update your profile photo through the View Account page at:
https://myaccount.microsoft.com/?ref=MeControl
Uploading an image here causes Microsoft’s account page to apply its own circular crop and insert a white fill behind it. This behavior is specific to the account portal and does not reflect how Teams normally handles profile images.
What Works Correctly
If you update your headshot directly in Teams by clicking your profile picture in the top right corner, the image saves as expected. Teams applies the standard circular crop without filling in the background, which preserves your original photo’s look.
This is the recommended method for anyone who wants a clean and consistent profile image across Teams and Outlook.
How to Fix Your Photo
If your photo already has the unwanted white background, you can correct it with a quick update:
Open Microsoft Teams.
Click your profile picture in the top right corner.
Select the option to change your photo.
Upload the same image again and save.
Teams will reprocess the image and remove the white border added by the account portal.
Summary
Updating your photo through Teams displays it correctly.
Updating your photo through the Microsoft Account page adds a white background.
If you see the issue, reupload your image in Teams to fix it.
If you have any trouble updating your headshot, feel free to reach out to the support team by emailing help@opensense.com.