Blur a whole picture, a part of it or the background
The tool does three jobs. It can blur everything, which turns a photo into a calm backdrop for text. It can blur only the areas you mark: a face, a number plate, an address, a screen. Or it can do the opposite: keep your areas sharp and blur everything around them.
| You want to | Choose | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Hide a face or a number plate | Selected areas | Pixelate or a strong blur hides best |
| Soften the background | Background, with an oval over the subject | Soft edges make it look natural |
| Make a backdrop for text | Whole image | The stronger the blur, the easier the text reads |
Blur or pixelate?
Both throw detail away. Blur smears it into soft colour, which looks natural and suits backgrounds. Pixelate replaces it with large squares, the look people know from television: it says “hidden on purpose” and leaves little to guess at. For privacy the strength matters more than the effect.
Is blur enough to hide sensitive information?
A light blur is not. Letters and digits under a weak blur can often still be read, and sometimes worked out by software. Raise the strength until nothing can be guessed when you look at the picture at full size, or use Pixelate with large squares. The file you download holds only the blurred pixels: there is no sharp layer underneath. For a password, a card number or an ID, crop the area out of the picture rather than trusting any blur.
How to blur the background of a photo
Choose Background, switch the area to Oval and place it over the person or the object that should stay sharp. Everything outside it is blurred, and Soft edges hide the line between the two. The tool does not find the subject for you: you place the area yourself, so it suits a simple outline, such as a head and shoulders, a product or a plate of food.
What happens to the size and the quality
The picture keeps its width and height, and its format unless you pick another. A PNG is saved without loss. A JPG or a WebP is compressed again, at high quality. Data stored inside the file, such as the place and the camera, is not carried over. Only a very large picture changes size: one longer than 4096 px on a side is scaled down to that, and the tool tells you so.