Blur the background of a photo
Get a portrait-style look by blurring everything behind your subject. Draw a box around the person or object; the tool separates it from the background and replaces the background with a blurred copy of the original.
How it works
- Upload a photo and draw a rectangle around the subject.
- Check the cut-out, fix it with the Keep/Erase brush and set how strong the blur is.
- Download the result as JPEG, PNG or WebP.
Works well for
- Portraits and product photos with a clear, contrasting subject
- Hiding a messy room, a street or other people behind you
- Making a subject stand out on social media, listings or profile pictures
- Photos in which the subject itself is sharp
Limitations
- There is no depth sensing: the whole background gets the same blur, while with a real lens the blur grows with distance
- Loose hair and fine details at the edge can look cut out
- Subjects that blend into the background need extra brush work
- One photo at a time – no batch processing or API for this tool
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as portrait mode on a phone?
The result is similar, the method is not. Phones estimate depth; this tool separates the subject from the background and blurs the background evenly. For a head-and-shoulders portrait the difference is usually small.
How does the tool know what the subject is?
You draw a rectangle around it. The tool builds color models of the subject and the background and refines the split over several iterations (a GrabCut-style segmentation). No AI model is used, so it relies on the subject differing in color from its surroundings.
Why is there a halo around my subject?
A halo appears when the edge of the mask is a few pixels too wide or too narrow. Shrink or grow the edge, soften it a little and paint over any remaining spots with the brush.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The segmentation and the blur run in your browser and the photo never leaves your device. The downloaded file contains no EXIF or location data.