--- title: 26 Million Facebook Profile Photos Changed for Gay Marriage description: More than 26 million Facebook users added a rainbow filter to their profile photos to mark the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage. canonical: https://time.com/3940931/supreme-court-gay-marriage-facebook/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-30T00:21:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:41.200Z og:title: 26 Million People Changed Their Profile Pic for Gay Marriage og:description: Rainbows took over the social media platform og:url: https://time.com/3940931/supreme-court-gay-marriage-facebook/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb444c515b436e444/6988590235ba6f50fdc0dfe0/white-house-rainbow.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: white-house-rainbow og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 26 Million People Changed Their Profile Pic for Gay Marriage twitter:description: Rainbows took over the social media platform twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb444c515b436e444/6988590235ba6f50fdc0dfe0/white-house-rainbow.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 26 Million People Changed Their Facebook Profile Photo to Celebrate Gay Marriage > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: Edie and Thea: A Love Story [Watch (HLS stream): Edie and Thea: A Love Story](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Kc02dmNR.m3u8) (4:37)  _Published 2013-12-11. Edith Windsor reflects on her life with late spouse, Thea Spyer, and the meaning of gay marriage_ by [Alex Heigl / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Contributor Jun 30, 2015 12:21 AM UTC  The White House stands illuminated in rainbow colored light at dusk in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 26, 2015. The White House stands illuminated in rainbow colored light at dusk in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 26, 2015. Drew Angerer— Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Alex Heigl / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Contributor Jun 30, 2015 12:21 AM UTC Did you notice a whole lot more rainbows in your Facebook feed over the weekend? Well, you were looking at the handiwork of two Facebook interns – a piece of code that more than 26 million people took advantage of for Pride weekend. The rainbow filter was created by two interns at an internal hackathon the company last week, and it became so popular internally that the company asked them to refine the filter for public use, the company said in a statement Monday. A number of celebrities jumped on board with the trend, including [Elizabeth Banks](http://www.people.com/article/pitch-perfect-3-confirmed-elizabeth-banks-direct), [Leonardo DiCaprio](http://www.people.com/people/leonardo%5Fdicaprio), [Andy Cohen](http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20933002%5F30352345,00.html), [Anne Hathaway](http://www.people.com/people/anne%5Fhathaway) and [E.L. James](http://www.people.com/article/pitch-perfect-3-confirmed-elizabeth-banks-direct). [Arnold Schwarzenegger](http://www.people.com/article/arnold-schwarzenegger-supreme-court-gay-marriage-ruling) got in on the act as well, though one fan registered their disapproval, writing “What’s wrong with U \[sic\] Arnie? I have to unlike,” to which Schwarzenegger replied simply, “Hasta la vista.” ### See Gay Pride Parades from Around the World  A couple kiss in Trafalgar Square after the annual Pride in London Parade on June 27, 2015 in London. Rob Stothard—Getty Images  Actor Ian McKellen waves to the crowd as he attends as grand marshal during the annual Gay Pride parade in New York City on June 28, 2015. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  A couple carry an American flag and a rainbow flag during the annual Gay Pride parade in New York on June 28, 2015. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters  A reveler attends the annual Pride in London Parade on June 27, 2015 in London. Rob Stothard—Getty Images  People take part in the annual Gay Pride Parade on June 27, 2015 in Dublin. Clodagh Kilcoyne—Getty Images  Fifty thousand people walk on the street for gay lesbian and diversity rights in Milan on June 27, 2015. Roberto Finizio—Pacific Press/Corbis  People march in front of the Colosseum during the Gay Pride Parade (LGBT) on June 13, 2015 in Rome. Filippo Monteforte—AFP/Getty Images  Israelis and foreigners celebrate during the 17th annual gay pride parade in Tel Aviv on June 12, 2015. Menahem Kahana—AFP/Getty Images  A reveler takes part in the "Proud to be yourself" gay pride parade with his dogs in Santiago on June 27, 2015. Vladimir Rodas—AFP/Getty Images  A participant takes part in the annual Pride in London Parade on June 27, 2015 in London. Neil Hall—Reuters  People take part in the annual Pride in London Parade on June 27, 2015 in London. Rob Stothard—Getty Images  A man waves the Rainbow flag on a truck during the annual Gay Pride parade in central Sofia, Bulgaria on June 27, 2015. Nikolay Doychinov—AFP/Getty Images  Revelers with skull masks take part in a Gay Pride parade in Panama City on June 27, 2015. Carlos Jasso—Reuters  A participant in the Pride March against discrimination in Manila on June 27, 2015. Ritchie B. Tongo—EPA  Participants march during a Gay Pride Parade in Mexico City on June 27, 2015. Edgard Garrido—Reuters  Participants of Sao Paulo's 19th annual Gay Pride Parade hold a large flag with the LGBT colors in Sao Paulo on June 7, 2015. Tiago Mazza Chiaravalloti—NurPhoto/Corbis  Participants of the 20th 'Regenbogenparade' (Rainbow Parade) wearing body paint march on the Ringstrasse in Vienna on June 20, 2015. Herbert P. Oczeret—EPA  Costumed people attend the Christopher Street Day, CSD, gay pride parade in front of the Semper Opera in Dresden, Germany on June 6, 2015. Jens Meyer—AP  Keira Phair, of Westchester, Ohio, holds a rainbow flag during the Cincinnati Pride parade on June 27, 2015, in Cincinnati. John Minchillo—AP  Revelers run under a huge rainbow flag during a Gay Pride parade in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on June 21, 2015. 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