Guide

Google Business Profile photo and video requirements

Google Business Profile photo requirements are simple on paper: JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB, 720 × 720 px recommended, and videos up to 30 seconds. The rule that matters more is that photos should represent reality and be captured at your location. Here is each rule from Google’s help pages, then how to shoot a profile that helps people find you.

Checked against Google Business Profile’s own help pages on 19 October 2026. Google Business Profile can change its rules — the official page always wins.

Google’s photo and video rules

Rule	What Google Business Profile says	In practice
Photo format	JPG or PNG. (source A)	iPhones save HEIC by default. Convert to JPG before uploading from a computer.
Photo file size	Between 10 KB and 5 MB. (source A)	Phone originals are often over 5 MB. Export a smaller JPEG copy.
Photo resolution	Recommended 720 px tall and 720 px wide. Minimum 250 px tall and 250 px wide. (source A)	Treat 720 × 720 px as the floor for a sharp result. Larger is fine while the file stays under 5 MB.
Photo quality	The photo should be in focus, well lit, and have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters or AI. The image should represent reality. (source B)	Real photos of your place, products and team. Straightening and brightening are fine; generated or heavily reworked scenes are not.
Video length	Up to 30 seconds long. (source A)	One idea per clip: a walk through the door, a dish going out, a service in progress.
Video file size	Up to 75 MB. (source A)	A 30-second 1080p phone clip can exceed this. Export at a lower bitrate or at 720p.
Video resolution	720p or higher. (source A)	Record at 1080p and export at 720p or 1080p.
Captured on location	Use media you captured with a camera at the location. Avoid screenshots, stock photos, GIFs, collages, heavily edited or otherwise manipulated photos, or imagery created by other parties. (source C)	Film at the business. Ads, AI promos and stock footage belong on your social channels.
Edits and overlays	Minimal adjustments such as correcting rotation or improving lighting can help. Avoid adding borders, text or collaged images; promotional superimposed content should be relevant to the place. (source C)	No “50% OFF” banner across the storefront. Put offers in a post.
Verification and review	Photos and videos show on Google only after the Business Profile is verified. Uploads are reviewed; status is Pending, Not approved or Live, and it can take up to 24–48 hours to appear. (source A)	Verify the profile first. If an upload stays Pending, check verification before uploading it again.
How many photos	Google suggests at least three exterior, three interior, three product, three “at work”, three food & drink and three team photos, as relevant to your business; hotels at least one per common area and three of popular rooms. (source B)	Begin with exterior shots from each direction customers approach, so the entrance is easy to recognise.
Cover photo	You can set a cover photo, but Google says it may not show up as the first image for your business. (source A)	Make several photos good enough to lead, since the cover may not be the one shown first.
Posts	Posts with unverified contact information (phone numbers, emails, social handles) may be removed; use the Call now button instead. Hotels can’t create offer posts. (source D)	Leave phone numbers out of post text and images, and add the Call now button.

Sources, read 19 October 2026:

Not covered: An aspect ratio for photos or videos, accepted video file formats and a maximum photo resolution; the Google help pages we read don’t state them. Third-party sites quote older or different limits, and only Google’s current pages are used here.

Resize a photo free

Shooting Business Profile photos and a 30-second video on a phone

Start outside
Photograph the entrance from each direction people arrive, in daylight. Google also suggests different times of day.
Shoot the inside as it is
Stand where a customer stands and photograph the room. Tidy up, but don’t stage what isn’t there.
Then products, food or work
Evenly lit photos of your best-selling items, dishes or services in progress.
Record one short clip
Hold the phone steady and film under 30 seconds: walking in, a dish going out, a haircut being finished. Keep the file under 75 MB.
Upload and check the status
Open your profile from Google Search or Maps, choose Photos and add them. Check back for Pending, Not approved or Live.

Why Business Profile media doesn’t appear, and the fix

Stuck on Pending: The profile isn’t verified, or processing hasn’t finished. Verify the business and allow up to 24–48 hours.
Not approved: The media was flagged under Google’s policies. Remove text, borders, collages and heavy filters, and upload something you shot at the location.
Upload fails: Photos must be JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB, and videos up to 75 MB. Export a smaller copy.
Video rejected or cut: It runs longer than 30 seconds or is below 720p. Trim it and export at 720p or higher.
Photo can’t be found after upload: Google says to check it isn’t a duplicate, then upload it again.

AI and your Business Profile

Google asks for photos with no significant alterations or excessive use of filters or AI, captured at your location. Generated imagery doesn’t belong on the profile. Your ads and social posts are where it can work.

GOOD USE

Where AI helps

Turn photos you took at the business into short vertical promos for Instagram, TikTok and Facebook ads.
Resize a real photo to a clean square without changing it, with the free browser resizer.
Small fixes Google itself allows, such as straightening a tilted shot or brightening a dark one.

AVOID

What breaks Google Business Profile’s rules

Generate storefront, interior or product images for the profile. Google wants imagery that represents reality.
Add offer banners, phone numbers or text over profile photos.
Upload a collage or stock footage as your business video.

Promo videos made from one shop photo

Each 8-second vertical promo came from a single photo of a fictional business, animated with Seedance 2.5. They are for social ads. Your Business Profile should get media captured at the location.

Promo video from one dish photo: barbershop (fictional shop)

AI-generated photo of a barbershop chair and mirror at a fictional shop — The single photo it started from: a barbershop chair and mirror

Promo video from one dish photo: coffee shop (fictional shop)

Promo video from one dish photo: car detailing garage (fictional shop)

AI-generated photo of a black sedan in a detailing garage at a fictional shop — The single photo it started from: a black sedan in a detailing garage

Promo video from one dish photo: nail salon (fictional shop)

Shop photos and videos were generated with AI for fictional businesses. No real restaurant, shop or brand is shown.

Photos that help someone find the door

A Business Profile photo does a different job from an ad. The person looking has already found you on Maps or in Search, and is deciding whether to come, or trying to work out which entrance is yours. Google’s suggestions start from there: at least three exterior photos, three interior, and three each of products, work, food and drink, and team, as relevant to the business.

Exterior photos do the most practical work. Shoot the entrance from each direction people approach, in daylight, with the sign readable. If you’re upstairs above another shop or in a unit at the back of a car park, photograph the way in. Google also suggests different times of day, which matters if you’re open after dark and the frontage looks different with the lights on.

A 30-second video that fits Google’s limits

Google accepts videos up to 30 seconds and 75 MB, at 720p or higher, and asks for media captured at the location. Say you run a two-chair barbershop. A useful clip is one steady shot: walking in from the street, past the chairs, to a barber finishing a fade in the mirror. It doesn’t need music, titles or an animated logo.

File size is where phone video trips people up. Thirty seconds of 4K from a recent phone is far over 75 MB, and even 1080p at a high bitrate can go over. Record at 1080p, export at 1080p or 720p from the phone’s editor, and check the file size before you upload rather than waiting for the upload to fail.

How much editing Google accepts

Google’s line is that photos should have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters or AI, and should represent reality. The Maps media tips add that minimal adjustments, such as correcting rotation or improving lighting, can help. Together those give you a workable boundary.

Straightening a tilted shot, lifting a dark interior, or correcting yellow indoor light so the walls look their real colour all sit inside it. Swapping a grey sky for a blue one, removing the bins by the door, generating a busier dining room or laying a promotional banner across the storefront sit outside it. A simple test: would a customer standing where you stood see the same thing?

When uploads sit in Pending or come back Not approved

Photos and videos appear only once the profile is verified, and Google says new media can take up to 24–48 hours to show, with a status of Pending, Not approved or Live. Pending media isn’t visible to customers. If something has been pending for longer, check verification before uploading it again.

Not approved points at the content rules: text or borders added to the photo, a collage, heavy filtering, a screenshot or stock imagery. Remove the overlay or reshoot at the location. Google also notes that the cover photo you choose may not show up first, which is a good reason to make every exterior and interior photo strong enough to lead.

Where AI fits for a local business

The profile isn’t the place for generated images, but the same real photos can do more elsewhere. A storefront photo can become a short vertical ad. A photo of your best dish or a finished haircut can open a Reel. Those are promotions on your own channels, judged by different rules from the Maps listing.

Google’s post rules are worth knowing here too. Posts with unverified contact details such as phone numbers, emails or social handles may be removed, so let the Call now button carry the number instead of the post text or image.

DoorDash menu photo requirements

Landscape 16:9, 1400 × 800 px and DoorDash’s rejection reasons.

Uber Eats menu photo guidelines

Angles, light and Uber’s catalog size rules.

Free image resizer

Make a clean square or landscape copy in your browser.

TikTok safe zone checker

Check text placement on vertical promo videos.

Other local platform guides: DoorDash menu photos · Uber Eats menu photos

Frequently asked questions

What size should Google Business Profile photos be?

Google recommends 720 × 720 px and requires at least 250 × 250 px, as JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB.

How long can a Google Business Profile video be?

Up to 30 seconds and up to 75 MB, at 720p or higher.

Can I use AI-generated images on my Google Business Profile?

Google’s guidelines say photos should have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters or AI and should represent reality, and Maps asks for media captured at the location. Use real photos on the profile and keep AI-made promos for ads and social posts.

Why is my Business Profile photo pending?

Media shows only after the profile is verified, and Google says it can take up to 24–48 hours to appear. Pending media isn’t shown to customers.

Can I add text or a logo to Business Profile photos?

Google’s Maps media tips say to avoid adding borders, text or collages, and that promotional superimposed content should be relevant to the place. Upload your logo in the logo slot instead.

How many photos should a Google Business Profile have?

Google suggests at least three each of exterior, interior, product, at-work, food & drink and team photos, depending on what fits your business. Start with the exterior.

Keep real photos on Google Business Profile; turn them into ads elsewhere

The listing on Google Business Profile needs your own photos. For Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, the generator at the top makes a short vertical promo from the same photo, and you see the plan first.

Make a promo video from my shop photo