How to Remove an Old Google Profile Photo from Outlook Emails
Question details
Users want to prevent an outdated Google profile picture from appearing when they send emails from an Outlook.com address to Gmail recipients.
- Product
- Outlook.com
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Sending emails from an Outlook.com account to a Gmail address.
- Observed behavior
- Gmail recipients see an old or incorrect Google profile photo attached to the incoming Outlook.com email, even though the sender has not set this photo in Outlook.
Before making changes, verify which Google account is currently or was previously linked to your Outlook email address, as the displayed profile photo is controlled entirely by Google's recipient-side data, not Microsoft Outlook.
Update or Remove the Profile Photo via Your Google Account
Since Gmail pulls the image from a linked Google profile rather than the Outlook email itself, you must remove or change the photo directly within your Google account settings.
Outlook.com does not send a profile photo with outgoing messages. The issue occurs because Gmail identifies your Outlook email address as being linked to a Google account and automatically displays the profile photo associated with that Google account.
Navigate to myaccount.google.com in your web browser and sign in using the Google account that is linked to your Outlook email address.
On the left-hand navigation menu, click on 'Personal info' to view your basic profile details.
Locate the 'Basic info' section and click on your current profile picture. From the prompt that appears, select the 'Remove' button to delete the photo completely, or choose 'Change' to upload a new, updated image.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Outlook email show a picture in Gmail?
Gmail automatically links incoming email addresses to connected Google profiles. If your Outlook email was ever used to create a Google account, or was linked as an alternate recovery email, Gmail will pull and display that Google profile's photo.
Can I change this photo from my Outlook.com settings?
No. Outlook.com does not attach profile photos to outbound emails. The image is fetched locally by Google on the recipient's end, meaning the photo must be changed or removed within your Google account settings.
What if I don't remember the Google account linked to my Outlook email?
You can use the 'Forgot email' or 'Forgot password' options on the Google sign-in page. Enter your Outlook email address to recover the linked Google account credentials, which will then allow you to log in and update the photo.
