Drag & drop an image here
or
PNG, JPG or WEBP — blurred locally on your device
Two ways to blur
Guide last reviewed: 28 September 2026
Blur whole photo applies an even blur across the entire image — useful for a soft background image, a placeholder, or de-emphasizing a busy photo. Paint blur lets you brush blur onto just the parts you choose — a face, a license plate, a document, or anything else you'd rather obscure before sharing — while leaving the rest of the photo untouched. Under the hood, paint mode renders a fully-blurred copy of your photo and reveals it only through the area you've painted, composited over the sharp original — that's why you can freely paint more, and the blurred layer underneath is always ready and consistent.
How to blur a photo
- Drop the photo you want to blur onto the page, or click the drop zone to browse for one (PNG, JPG, or WEBP).
- Choose Blur whole photo for an even blur, or Paint blur (brush) to blur only specific areas.
- Adjust Blur strength with the slider — and in brush mode, also set the Brush size to match what you're covering.
- In brush mode, click and drag over the preview to paint blur on; use Clear brush strokes to start over without reloading the photo.
- Download the result once you're happy with it.
Choosing a blur strength
- Light (1–8px) — a subtle softening effect, useful for a background you still want recognizable.
- Medium (10–18px) — enough to de-emphasize a background or make a watermark area unobtrusive.
- Strong (20–30px) — for genuinely obscuring content like a face or a license plate; use the higher end of this range for anything you need to reliably hide.
- Brush size should roughly match the feature you're covering — too small and you'll need many strokes to fully cover a face; too large and you'll blur more of the surrounding photo than intended.
A privacy note on blurring sensitive information
A blur is a visual softening, not a guaranteed irreversible removal of information — at lower strengths, especially on simple, high-contrast content like text, specialized tools can sometimes partially reconstruct what was underneath. If you're hiding something genuinely sensitive (a license plate, an ID number, a face for someone's safety), use a strong blur setting, make sure your brush strokes fully cover the area with some margin, and check the exported result carefully before sharing it anywhere.
Common uses
People use whole-photo blur to create soft background images or de-emphasize a busy photo behind text, and paint blur to redact a face, license plate, document text, or other identifying detail before sharing a photo publicly — a common need for screenshots, listing photos, or images posted to social media.
Frequently asked questions
Can I undo a brush stroke without starting over?
Use Clear brush strokes to remove all painted blur and start fresh on the same photo — there's currently no way to undo a single stroke individually.
Does blurring reduce the image's resolution?
No — the output keeps the same pixel dimensions as your original photo; only the visual sharpness within the blurred area changes.
Can I blur multiple separate areas in brush mode?
Yes — paint as many separate strokes and areas as you need; they all accumulate onto the same photo before you download.
Will this work for redacting sensitive documents?
For casual use, yes, at a strong blur setting with generous brush coverage. For anything legally or highly sensitive, a solid-color box drawn over the area is more reliably irreversible than any blur — this tool doesn't currently offer that as a separate mode.