When you receive an iMessage from an unknown party, how does Messages identify that person to you if they’re not already in your contacts? Apple has a backchannel in its own multimedia SMS system that sends your name and picture to the recipient based on settings you can control.
In iOS/iPadOS, go to Institutions > To inform > Part Name And Photo; in macOS, open Messages and go to Messages > Preferences > General (Monterey and earlier) or Messages > Settings > General (Ventura or later).
You can start by enabling or disabling sharing your name and profile picture: use the Share name and photo switch in iOS/iPadOS and the Share name and photo checkbox in macOS. If disabled, these items will not be shared with people you message for the first time; anyone who previously received and stored them retains that information.
You can easily change your first and last name by editing them. Tap to change or crop your profile picture Edit button in iOS/iPadOS or hover over your profile picture and click Edit in macOS. You can then take a photo (on devices with built-in cameras), browse or search your Photos library, choose an emoji symbol, or choose from Memoji. You can also tap the edit icon (a pencil) to change the crop and zoom in on an existing image or one you’ve chosen new.
When you select a photographic image, Messages in iOS/iPadOS asks if you want to use the image in Messages. After tapping or clicking Finished, you ask if you want to use the new image everywhere – a strange wording if Apple only means that in addition to Messages, the image will be used for your Apple ID and with your My Card entry in Contacts. Tap or click Not now to use in Messages only; tap or click Usage to make it your pan apple picture.
Apple does not require you to share this information with anyone. You can limit automatic approval to people who are already in your contacts. Or you can choose Always ask, in which case you’ll be prompted whenever you send an iMessage address or phone number that you haven’t previously (or at least recently) contacted.
Recipients who have not saved contact information for you will see your name and profile picture. Those who have already saved information will receive a prompt in Messages if what they receive is different from what has been saved. They will be given the option to update their contacts with the new name or profile picture.
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