How to Put a Picture on Android Keyboard (2026 Guide)

Setting a photo as your keyboard background on Android is a small tweak, but it makes the overall experience a bit more personal. You can both a custom image and create your own theme for the keyboard. So, go ahead and follow our guide to put a picture on your Android keyboard via Gboard, Samsung Keyboard and SwiftKey. On that note, let us start.

How to Put a Picture on Your Android Keyboard Using Gboard

Gboard is the most used keyboard on Android and it comes with a proper theme creator. If Gboard is not your default keyboard, you can install it for free from the Play Store (Download) on any phone. Here is how to set a picture as your keyboard background on Android with Gboard.

1. Open any app where you can type to bring up the Gboard keyboard.
2. Next, tap on the four-square grid icon in the left corner and then open Theme.

3. Under the My themes section, tap on the "+" (Add) button to create a new theme.
4. Now, pick a photo from your gallery.
5. You can also pinch to zoom and drag to reposition the image. After that, tap on Next.

6. Now, drag the slider to adjust the brightness of the photo and tap on Done.
7. Next, choose whether you want key borders on or off. Finally, tap Apply and you are done.

You will have your own picture on the Android keyboard. The custom theme is saved under My themes and you can switch back any time. While you are here, you can check out Gboard's Writing Tools feature which is part of Gemini AI features on Android. There is also this upcoming Gboard's Rambler voice typing feature that cleans up your spoken ramblings into clean text.

How to Set a Picture as Your Samsung Keyboard Background

If you use a Samsung phone, the default Samsung Keyboard doesn't let you add a photo background on its own. You need to use Samsung's Good Lock app or the Theme Park app to put a picture on the keyboard. We have written a detailed guide on how to change the Samsung Keyboard background covering many options. Nevertheless, here are the quick steps to add a custom background.

1. First off, install Theme Park (Download) from the Galaxy Store and launch it.
2. Now, move to the Keyboard tab and tap on Create new.
3. Next, tap on the image (gallery) icon and pick the photo you want to set as the keyboard background.

4. After that, tap on the Download icon at the top right and give your theme a name.

5. Finally, tap on the newly created theme with your picture and hit Apply. That's all.

Your Samsung Keyboard will now show your custom photo in the background. If Good Lock is new to you, our explainer on what Good Lock is and how to install it covers every module in detail.

How to Put a Custom Photo on Microsoft SwiftKey

If you have switched to Microsoft SwiftKey, you are in luck because it has a proper Photo Themes feature to set a custom image as the keyboard background. Here is how it works.

1. Install the Microsoft SwiftKey app (Download) and launch it.
2. Now, tap on the 3-dot menu in the toolbar and tap on Themes.

3. Now, go to the Customised tab and tap on Start to design a new theme.
4. Here, tap on Add Image and choose a photo from your gallery.

5. Next, pinch to zoom and drag to position the image. You can also adjust the background brightness just like Gboard.
6. You can enable or disable key borders. Finally, tap on Save.
7. The custom picture will be applied to the SwiftKey keyboard on your Android phone right away.

And that wraps up our guide on how to put a picture on keyboard across Android phones. I would recommend users to keep the background brightness below 40% and choose an image that is good for legibility. And if you think the photo is just too much of a distraction, you can always enable dark mode on Samsung Keyboard for a high-contrast look. Finally, you can also get the emoji button back on the Samsung Keyboard if it has gone missing from your toolbar.