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How to add or change your profile photo on Panka

In short

On Panka you have two photos. The one your team-mates see is your player card photo: go to “Profile” → “PLAYER”, tap your player card and choose an image from the photos on your phone. You change your account photo from “Profile” → “ACCOUNT”, with the camera icon. In both cases it is saved straight away.

If “Gallery permission denied” appears when you tap the photo, you have denied Panka access to your photos. Your phone usually doesn’t ask again: turn access back on from the phone’s settings (on iPhone, Settings → Apps → Panka → Photos) and try again.

Two different photos: player card and account

Your player card photo is the photo on your roster card, and it is the one your team-mates see: in the roster, on the player’s page, in the team lists and on the player card you can share. Each team has its own card, so if you play in several teams each player card has its own photo. Players and administrators linked to a card have one. The coach doesn’t: their “Profile” only has the account part.

Your account photo is tied to you, not to a team, and is seen less: it appears in some staff lists, such as “Members”, and on the standings card, where it takes the place of the player card. To change it, open “Profile” → “ACCOUNT”, tap the camera icon on the circle at the top and choose the image. It saves by itself, and “Profile photo updated” appears.

Changing your player card photo

Your account has to be linked to your roster card. If your profile says “No player profile”, ask to be linked first. If it says “Request pending”, you can add the photo once the staff has approved.

  1. Open your profile Tap “Profile” in the bar at the bottom and stay on the “PLAYER” tab, the one that opens first.
  2. Tap your player card Tap the photo, or the camera icon in its corner, and choose an image from those on your phone.
  3. Wait for confirmation The photo uploads and saves straight away, without tapping “Save changes”: when “Profile updated” appears, your team-mates can already see it.
  • While your player card has no photo, the Home is quicker: in the “YOUR CARD” box tap “Add photo”. If there is already a photo, tapping it opens it full screen: to change it, go through your profile.
  • The photo applies to the active team. To change it in another team, tap the team name at the top, choose the other team and repeat.
  • If you join a team with an invite that creates your card, the “Your player card” form already has the “Photo” field: with “Choose a photo” you add one straight away, and with “Import from one of your cards” you copy the one you use in another team.
  • The coach and administrators can add or change the photo on any card, even for someone who has no account: Settings → “Players”, tap the player, then “Photo” and “Save”. Anyone uploading a photo of another person must have that person’s consent.

If the gallery won’t open: photo access denied

The first time you choose a photo, your phone asks whether Panka can access your photos. If you said no, “Gallery permission denied” appears every time you tap the photo, and the gallery doesn’t open. Your phone usually doesn’t ask again, and there is no button in the app to bring the question back: access is turned back on from the phone’s settings, as explained below.

Panka doesn’t use the camera: the photo is always chosen from those already saved on your phone.

Restoring photo access on iPhone

  1. Open the iPhone’s Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps and then Panka. Before iOS 18 there is no Apps entry: Panka is directly in the Settings list, further down.
  3. Tap Photos and allow access: either full access or access limited to some photos is fine.
  4. Go back to Panka and tap the photo again.

Restoring photo access on Android

It depends on your Android version. From Android 13 onwards, Panka doesn’t ask for any photo permission: when you tap the photo, the system image picker opens, and there is nothing to turn back on. The permission only exists up to Android 12, and you turn it back on like this:

  1. Open Settings and tap Apps (on some phones Apps & notifications, then the list of all apps).
  2. Tap Panka, then Permissions.
  3. Tap Files and media (on Android 10 and earlier, Storage) and allow access.
  4. Go back to Panka and tap the photo again.

The names of these items vary by manufacturer and Android version: if you can’t find them, search for Panka in the Settings search. If Panka’s permissions include nothing about photos or files, your phone doesn’t require them.

When the photo ends up on cards

Inside the app, your player card photo is seen by your team-mates. Shareable cards, on the other hand, leave the group, and stricter rules apply there:

  • if you are under 18, your photo never goes on a card: your player card can still be shared, with an empty frame in place of the photo;
  • the player card and the MVP card only carry an adult’s photo if an administrator has turned on “Image releases” in Settings → “General settings”. Otherwise they come out without a photo, and under “YOUR CARD” you read “Your player card will come out without the photo. The admin has not declared the releases.”;
  • if the card has no date of birth, the player card can’t be shared: under the card you read “You can’t share your player card yet. Date of birth required.”. You add it in “Profile” → “PLAYER”, in the “DATE OF BIRTH” field, then tap “Save changes”;
  • on team cards, such as the post-match card and the standings, faces appear even without image releases, but never the face of anyone who has objected or who is a minor according to their date of birth.

Keeping yourself off cards

If you don’t want your image to leave the group, open “Profile” → “PLAYER”, scroll to the bottom and turn on “Keep me off shared cards”. The app asks you to confirm: tap “Withdraw consent”. From that moment:

  • cards about you, such as your player card, are no longer generated;
  • on team cards (ratings, standings, lineups and fantasy lineups) you appear as “Player”;
  • cards already shared are deleted from Panka’s servers straight away, but copies already forwarded to a chat can’t be recovered;
  • the photo inside the app doesn’t change, and the coach and administrators receive a notice.

You can turn it off whenever you like, and cards start being generated again. Anyone without an account asks the coach or an administrator, who find “Keep this player off shared cards” by opening the player in Settings → “Players”.

Frequently asked questions

I denied gallery access by mistake and now I can’t add a photo: what do I do?

Turn access back on from your phone’s settings, because the phone usually doesn’t ask again. On iPhone: Settings → Apps → Panka → Photos (before iOS 18: Settings → Panka → Photos) and allow access, full or limited. On Android up to version 12: Settings → Apps → Panka → Permissions → Files and media; from Android 13 onwards the permission isn’t needed. Then go back to Panka and tap the photo again.

I changed my profile photo, but my team-mates still see the old one: why?

You probably changed your account photo, which your team-mates rarely see. The one that appears in the roster and in the team lists is your player card photo: change it from “Profile” → “PLAYER”, by tapping your player card. If you play in several teams, also check that you are in the right team.

Can I take a photo directly from Panka?

No: the photo is chosen from those already saved on your phone. Take it first with the camera, then choose it from Panka.

Can I remove the photo without adding another one?

Not from the app: the photo can be replaced, not removed. To have it deleted, write to privacy@panka.app. When you delete your account, the account photo is deleted; the player card, however, stays with the team, with its photo.

Why does my shared player card come out without a photo?

For one of two reasons: you are under 18, in which case the photo never goes on cards, or no administrator of the team has turned on “Image releases”. In the second case, ask an administrator: the switch is in Settings → “General settings”.

I play in two teams: do I have to add the photo in both?

Yes: each team has its own card with its own photo, and if you change it in one, the other doesn’t change. When you join a new team with an invite that creates your card, “Import from one of your cards” copies the photo too.

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