iOS 17 Contact Posters: How to Create Your Own

To create a personalized Contact Poster in iOS 17, open the Contacts app, tap your card, choose Contact Photo & Poster, then customize a photo, Memoji, or monogram with text and visual effects. When you finish, save the poster and choose whether to share it automatically with your contacts or only when you approve.

What Contact Posters Do

A Contact Poster is a full-screen identity card that can appear when you call someone, and it can be shared through Apple’s contact-sharing features. It is separate from the small contact photo people may already see in Messages or Contacts, although you can use the same image for both. The poster combines a picture or graphic with your name and a layout styled to suit it.

Contact Posters arrived with iOS 17. They are designed to let you decide how your name and image look to other people, rather than relying only on a tiny, automatically cropped thumbnail. Your poster does not change your phone number or make your personal details public on the web. Sharing depends on the settings you choose and the context in which you contact someone.

Create a Poster on Your iPhone

Open Contacts and tap My Card near the top. You can also open the Phone app, tap Contacts, and select your card.
Tap Contact Photo & Poster. If prompted, confirm the name you want displayed and the sharing setting.
Tap Edit, then tap Customize under the poster area. To make a new design, tap the plus button if it appears, then pick a poster type.
Choose a photo, Memoji, or monogram and adjust its crop or position. Depending on the design, you can swipe through available filters or styles.
Tap the name area to choose a font, weight, and color. Drag the slider to adjust text size where available. Keep the name readable against the image.
Tap Done to preview and save. Follow any prompt to update the contact photo as well, or choose a different photo for that smaller image.

Button labels and the screens you see can vary slightly with the iOS release and whether a poster already exists. If the option is missing, confirm that the iPhone is running iOS 17 or later and that you are editing your own contact card.

Choose a Photo, Memoji, or Monogram

Use a clear image with enough space around your face or subject. Since a poster fills much more of the screen than a contact thumbnail, an image that looked fine as a small circle may crop awkwardly in the poster layout. Preview the crop and move or zoom the image until the important details remain visible.

Photo: Best when you want people to recognize you. A well-lit portrait with a simple background usually keeps the name easy to read.
Memoji: Choose or customize a character for an illustrated look. This is useful if you prefer not to use a real portrait.
Monogram: A simple design based on your initials. It can be a tidy choice when you want a graphic identity without selecting a photo.

Try a contrasting text color and avoid putting important text over a busy part of the image. The poster is meant to identify you quickly, so decorative effects should not make your name difficult to read.

Set Name and Sharing Preferences

In the Contact Photo & Poster settings, you can choose how your name appears and whether the poster is shared. The sharing control commonly offers Contacts Only or Always Ask. Contacts Only allows sharing with people in your contacts; Always Ask gives you a prompt before sharing with someone. Choose the latter if you want to decide case by case.

There is also a control for sharing your name and photo. If you do not want the poster offered to other people, turn off name and photo sharing. These settings are about sharing your contact identity, not a guarantee that another person cannot save or photograph information they can already see. Check the preview and sharing choice before placing a call to someone new.

Edit, Replace, or Remove a Poster

Return to Contacts > My Card > Contact Photo & Poster to make changes. Tap Edit below the poster, then select the design you want to adjust. You can change the image, crop, text styling, or appearance and save the updated version. If you have more than one design available, swipe between them to select or edit the one you want.

To stop using a particular design, open the poster editing screen and look for the delete option for that poster. Removing a poster is different from simply turning off sharing: deletion changes the design stored on your card, while the sharing setting controls whether it is offered to others. Menu wording can vary, so inspect the edit screen before confirming a removal.

Common Problems and Useful Checks

My Card is missing: In Contacts, create or locate your own contact entry and set it as your card if prompted. Make sure you are not editing someone else’s contact.
The poster is not appearing for another person: Check name and photo sharing, your Contacts Only or Always Ask choice, and whether the other person’s device and software support the feature. The recipient may not see a poster in every calling situation.
The photo looks incorrectly cropped: Reopen the design and reposition or zoom the image. Leave space near the edges because the full-screen layout may crop differently from a thumbnail.
The name is hard to read: Try a different font color or image, or move the text away from a busy background. Preview the design before saving.

A common misconception is that setting a poster automatically replaces every contact photo everywhere. The poster and the smaller contact photo are related options, but they can be different images. Another is that sharing means the poster is broadcast publicly; the sharing controls are intended for contact interactions, not public profile publishing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a Contact Poster without using a photo?
Yes. Choose a Memoji or monogram instead of a personal photograph. You can also use a graphic or image available in your photo library if you prefer.

How do I change the name shown on my poster?
Open your card’s Contact Photo & Poster settings and edit the name fields offered there. The displayed name is associated with your contact card, so check that card if the name is not what you expect.

Can I make different posters for different people?
You can create and select poster designs for your own card, but the feature is not a separate custom poster automatically assigned to each recipient. Sharing controls determine when your chosen name and poster are offered.

Will Android users see my Contact Poster?
Contact Poster is an Apple feature, so the experience is not guaranteed on non-Apple phones. A person using another system may instead see caller information supported by their phone or carrier.

Does turning off sharing delete my poster?
No. Turning off name and photo sharing controls whether your information is shared; it does not by itself remove the saved design. Edit or delete the poster separately if you want to change what is stored on your card.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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