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Facebook Testing Profile Videos As Alternative To Profile Pictures

By Melony Roy

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Big changes are coming to profile pictures on Facebook.

The company has announced it's testing a new feature called "profile videos," that operate in place of the traditional "profile photo." The feature will allow users to upload GIF-like seven-second clips instead of a static photo.

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(photo credit: Facebook)

The social network says the move is part of an effort to help people further express their personalities and creativity on the site.

Profile videos will only loop when someone visit's the user's profile page.

iPhone users in California and the U.K. will be the first to be able to upload short looping videos as their profile photos. The feature is expected to roll out to Facebook's larger user base in the near future.

The network is also making profile pictures and videos bigger and more prominent, adding a one-line bio field and the ability to set a temporary version of your profile picture that reverts back to your previous profile picture at a specific time.

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(photo credit: Facebook)
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