# Set up your profile

This guide is for any signed-in user, viewer or creator. You add a profile photo, set the Display Name shown on your comments, claim or change your @handle, and optionally store a private first and last name. You end with a saved profile and a public URL at `/@yourhandle`.

## Before you start

- Sign in. The account pages send you to the sign-in page otherwise.
- Have a photo ready: JPEG, PNG, or WebP, up to 5 MB.

## Step 1 — Open the Profile tab

Click the account menu at the top right and choose **Account**. You land on the **Profile** tab at `/account/profile`. The rail on the left also lists **Login & Security**, **Privacy & Data**, **Payments & Support**, and **Notifications**. Under the **Account** title a line shows who you are signed in as, with your name and handle, and a badge at the right of the **Profile** heading shows your role, **Viewer** or **Creator**.

The card holds the photo uploader, **Display Name**, **First name**, **Last name**, **@handle**, and a **Save changes** button that stays inactive until something changes.

[[img:set-up-your-profile/01-account-profile.png|The Profile tab highlighted in the Account rail, with the profile card and its fields on the right.]]

## Step 2 — Upload a photo

Click **Upload photo** and pick a file. The helper text next to the buttons states the limits: **JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 5 MB**. The upload saves on its own; there is no separate save for photos. When it finishes, the picture replaces the initials placeholder and the green **Profile updated** line appears under the form. **Remove photo** takes you back to the initials.

A file of the wrong type, or one over 5 MB, is refused with an inline message and nothing changes.

[[img:set-up-your-profile/02-upload-photo.png|The photo row with Upload photo and Remove photo after the upload; the recorded photo is an initials image, so it looks like the placeholder, and the Profile updated line at the bottom confirms the upload.]]

## Step 3 — Set your Display Name and @handle

**Display Name** is public. The helper under it says so and reminds you that it appears on your comments and profile; the counter on the right shows how many of the 50 characters you have used.

**First name** and **Last name** are private. They are never shown on any public page.

**@handle** is your public address. Type it in lowercase. While you type, the field shows **Checking availability…** and then **Available** in green, or tells you that the handle is taken, reserved, or breaks the format rule. The line under the field previews the result as **Your public profile URL:** followed by `/@yourhandle`. If you skipped the handle at sign-up, the line reads **Pick a handle to claim your public profile URL.** and the field is prefilled with a suggestion from your email address; edit it or keep it.

A new handle raises a warning box, **Your public profile URL will change**, before you save. It explains that the handle will resolve at the new address and relabel your comment attributions once saved. Links to the old address stop working after the save.

[[img:set-up-your-profile/03-display-name-handle.png|The @handle field showing Available, the URL preview under it, and the warning that the public profile URL will change.]]

## Step 4 — Save your changes

Click **Save changes**. The button reads **Saving…** while the request runs. The green **Profile updated** line appears under the button, the handle indicator clears, and the new handle is live at `/@yourhandle`. The account menu at the top right shows it right away.

If the handle was taken between the check and the save, the form tells you and keeps your edits; pick another and save again. If the save fails for another reason, a message asks you to try again and nothing is lost.

[[img:set-up-your-profile/04-saved-toast.png|The Profile updated confirmation under the Save changes button after the handle is saved.]]

## Good to know

- Handle rules: 3 to 30 characters, lowercase letters, digits, and underscores only. Some names are reserved and cannot be claimed.
- Your Display Name and photo appear on your comments, on the creator row of any film you publish, and on your public profile page.
- Leaving the tab with unsaved edits opens **Discard unsaved changes?** with **Keep editing** and **Discard**.
- Creators have a second, larger editor: **Public Profile** in the **Creator Hub** sidebar, at `/dashboard/profile`. It adds a hero banner, a bio, an about section, tags, social links, and featured work. The hero banner is not on the Account page. The photo is shared: the same picture is used on the Account tab and on the public profile. See [Become a creator and get verified](/docs/become-a-creator).
- Email and password live under **Login & Security**, not here. See [Privacy, safety and your account](/docs/privacy-safety-and-your-account).
- Your profile is part of the data export under **Privacy & Data**.