How to remove French flag from Facebook: Users complain there's no easy way to return profile pictures to normal

The site added a tool to put the filter over existing photos – though removing the red, white and blue colour isn’t as simple

Wembley lit in the colours of the French flag (Getty Images)

A week after Facebook introduced a tool to add a French flag filter to profile photos, many are seeing their pictures automatically lose their overlaid colours. But for those that didn’t use the special tool are finding it more difficult to change their picures back.

Facebook now allows people to opt to add the filter only temporarily, adding options including those to have the picture for just one hour or one week. But that setting can only be used when changing the photo.

Instead, the quickest way to change the profile picture back is to go to your Facebook profile photo and hover over it. That will bring up an option to “Update Profile Photo”, where you can choose to select a new one or a picture that has been used before.

The unfiltered version of your profile photo should be the second one along, found immediately after the one featuring the red, white and blue of the French flag.

Users can change their picture to an entirely different one using the same menu, choosing to upload or take a new photo in the same way.

Facebook’s support pages have a number of users complaining that it is too difficult to remove the filter from profile photos. The site gave an easy option for adding the filter but there is no obvious way to remove it again.

The tool has been highly popular since it was introduced in the wake of the Paris attacks last week, when Facebook also turned on its Safety Check feature. But it was controversial, too, with some even arguing that the site was celebrating white supremacy.

The automatically removable filters feature was added soon after the huge success of the rainbow profile photos that were created to support Pride. Many people added those pictures, but were unable to remove them easily – and the question of when to do so caused some anxiety.

Facebook wasn’t the only site to have added the red, white and blue flag to its site. Others including Uber changed their logos or other parts of their products to include the colour.