How to put your own photo on the CarPlay screen

Updated September 30, 2026

Since iOS 26 a photo can sit right next to the map on the CarPlay Dashboard. Here's the whole flow, plus what makes a photo look good on a car screen.

What you need

iPhone on iOS 26 or later.
A car with CarPlay.
A widget app that supports photos — CarMood has photo, photo-with-caption and photo-frame designs.

Step by step

Open the app, choose a photo design and pick a picture from your library. Crop it to a square — widgets are square in the car.
Add a caption if you like: a name, a date, a line of text.
Put it in Car Widget 1 (or 2, 3).
iPhone Settings → General → CarPlay → your car → Widgets → Add Widgets → add “Car Widget 1”.
In the car, swipe to the Dashboard.

Do it in two taps with CarMood

Download on the App Store

Make it look good in the car

Car screens are small — one face or one car in the middle of the frame beats a wide group shot.
Keep important parts away from the edges; some head units crop a few pixels.
High contrast helps in daylight: avoid pale photos on light backgrounds.
Night mode dims the screen; a slightly brighter photo looks right at both times of day.

Several photos in one widget

Photo-frame designs hold two to four pictures in one card — good for couples, families and pets. Or add more designs and swipe between them in the stack.

Privacy

Photos stay on your iPhone: the widget renders them locally and the car only receives the picture on screen. Nothing is uploaded unless you use an AI feature and confirm it.