Facebook Profile Picture Update

This was a little thing with big implications, so wanted to share.

We recently ran a test where any time someone updated their profile picture we'd show this feed story design that better represented a person's identity on Facebook. Previously profile picture updates looked like regular photo updates, we wanted to create something more holistic and unique. This new design felt really good, the more I saw it in the wild the more I loved it.

The results of the design test were surprising: we learned that when people saw this design it made them want to update their own profile—both cover photo and profile picture. We saw a sizable uptick in updates for profiles as a result, but an equally dramatic decrease in other metrics.

Ultimately we decided to take this concept back to the drawing board, but the lesson stuck with me: something as small as adding an additional image and string of text to a feed story can have dramatic impact on a broader scale.