A woman was devastated to learn her “emo” Apple profile picture was being emailed to employers. And in an 8-second TikTok video that garnered over 8.8 million views, she detailed the distress she felt as a result of this discovery.
Louise (@lou.igi) records herself looking down at her phone with her hand over her mouth. Additionally, her eyes are opened wide in a bulging display of shock as she presumably stares down at her device.
Next, her video transitions to displaying the profile picture in question. The man in her photo has mascara on, and he’s rocking a mass of long black hair. Adorning the top of his crown is a side-swept style, and it appears he has some purple dye mixed into his black-tinted follicle aesthetic.
@lou.igi My bad 😔 #jobsearch #fyp #bruh #emo #help ♬ Let Me Know (feat. Future) – Tamar Braxton
The TikToker writes in a text overlay of her video, “I didn’t realize my Apple pfp was visible to others. I’ve been emailing employers with this picture.” To make matters worse, she shows off what appears to be the email application on an iOS device. Inside the application and beside one of her messages, is indeed the emo profile picture in question.
Apple profile picture—and how to change it
Furthermore, it seems other folks who use products manufactured by the Cupertino-based tech company also have this issue.
In an Apple community forum, one user recently penned that they wish “local user account photo[s]” weren’t connected to Apple ID photos. Additionally, they stated an Apple Store employee “confirmed” other customers had this same issue.
Moreover, if you’re interested in changing your Apple profile picture, the company recommends the following steps. Users should head to iCloud.com/settings, and then input their username and password if they aren’t already logged in.
Following this, users need to head to iCloud settings and click/tap on Change Apple Account Photo. Next, they should simply drag and drop the new desired picture into the photo field.
Also, users can tap/click “browse your device for a new image.” This will direct them to different file directories where they can select a new image. After they’ve picked their new profile photo, all they have to do is click save to avoid the same aforementioned scenario Louise experienced.
Embarrassing emails to employers
Unfortunately, this inadvertent phenomenon has occurred to many folks whilst sending emails. One Samsung Galaxy S3 user stated that they “noticed (with horror)” they’ve been sending emails with what is presumably an embarrassing profile photo.
The picture, they noted, was tied to Microsoft’s Live service, but they didn’t remember setting it as such. Moreover, it appears that their phone automatically tethered whatever avatar they selected on their Galaxy phone to their Microsoft Live account.
Additionally, HuffPost published a list of different email gaffes sent out to folks in a professional environment. Like this US embassy worker in Australia who “sent out a cat photo instead of a meeting invite.”
Then there was this employee who, thanks to a cut-and-paste gaffe, ended up writing an unsavory phrase into a work email:
Another worker mistakenly shared their love for UB40’s track “Red Red Wine” with a colleague. Yet another person shared a meme instead of sending building plans to a contractor.
Workplace profile pic woes
On the legal side of things, there was an employee who was miffed that management demanded they have a profile picture. They asked if it was all right for their online presence to be represented by the company’s logo. So they shared their concerns on an Avvo forum, where a lawyer informed them “terms of employment can change.”
Consequently, the concerned worker’s supervisor could indeed mandate that they have a professional work photo taken and attached to their corporate profile.
Moreover, this Inc. column piece featured an employee who was told their company’s profile picture was “embarrassing.” According to the worker, their boss reached out to them after Human Resources expressed concern over their LinkedIn headshot. The HR rep stated the image made the worker look “childish” and demanded that they change it to a more professional-looking one.
On the flip side, the same article comes at the issue from a manager’s perspective. They stated that while they could understand the worker is trying to look “funny” in their picture, they saw HR’s point regarding professionalism. Additionally, they said that while a job can’t force an employee to change their social media pictures, it ultimately isn’t a good look.
Commenters react
With regards to Louise’s post, however, numerous folks couldn’t help but giggle at her gaffe. “This genuinely made me laugh so hard,” one said. Another echoed, “I can’t stop laughing.”
Whereas someone else said that if they saw an email come in with this profile picture attached, it’d leave a good impression. “I’d hire yon ON THE SPOT,” they penned.
There were other users who shared their own embarrassing employer email missteps. Like this person who said, “If it makes you feel better, I got hired with my email name as ‘biggie cheese.’ And not once have any of my coworkers inquired about it..I WORK AT A HOSPITAL,” they wrote.
But there was at least one commenter who wondered why Louise was unaware that her Apple profile picture wasn’t public, asking, “Why would your pfp NOT be visible to others?”
And someone else found the comedy in seeing a full-blown resume rocking this profile picture. “Imagine a full, serious resume with this profile picture.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Louise via TikTok comment for further information.
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