Blur and Censor Image

Drag over the part you want to hide. Blur it, pixelate it, black it out. Privacy-preserving image editing.

No uploadBlur, pixelate or solid blockFull resolution downloadWorks on phones

How to blur or censor part of an image

1

Drop your image

Drag in any JPG or PNG. The file loads in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

2

Draw a selection

Drag to select the area you want to blur — a face, a name, a phone number, whatever needs hiding.

3

Choose effect

Gaussian blur for a smooth hide, pixelate for a mosaic effect, or solid black block for full redaction.

4

Add more regions if needed

Multiple areas to hide? Add another selection and apply the effect again.

5

Download

Save the censored image. The original stays untouched on your device.

When you need to blur part of an image

Screenshot with someone else's name in it. Photo that shows your address in the background. Bank statement you need to share partially. Employee photo you want to post without showing a face. Bug report screenshot with private data visible.

These situations come up often. The usual fix is to open an image editor, find a blur brush, carefully paint over the area, and save. That works but it is slow. This tool is built specifically for this task — select a region, apply the effect, done.

Everything happens in the browser. The image never leaves your device, which matters when you are dealing with sensitive content — which is usually exactly when you need this tool.

Blur, pixelate or solid block: which one to use

The three effects look similar at a glance but they do very different jobs, and picking the right one matters more than the strength setting.

What you are hidingBest effectWhy
A stranger's face in a crowdBlurLooks natural and hides identity well at a strong setting
Background clutter or a messy deskBlurSoftens without drawing attention to itself
A brand logo you cannot showPixelate or blurEither reads as deliberate, pick the look you prefer
Names, email addresses, usernamesSolid blockShort predictable text can be rebuilt from blur or pixelation
Card, account or phone numbersSolid blockDigits are the easiest text of all to reconstruct
Home address or car number plateSolid blockRemoves the information instead of disguising it

The rule underneath the table is simple. Blur and pixelate change how something looks, and a changed version still carries traces of the original. A solid block replaces the pixels completely, so there is nothing left to recover. When the goal is privacy rather than style, use the block. We explain why pixelated text can be recovered on the pixelate tool page.

How the blur is calculated

Each pixel inside the region is replaced by a weighted average of the pixels around it, with nearby pixels counting more than distant ones. That bell shaped weighting is what makes a Gaussian blur look smooth instead of streaky. The strength slider sets how far the averaging reaches.

The calculation runs on the raw pixel values in your browser rather than through a browser filter setting, so the result is the same on every device. It also treats the edge of your selection as a wall: pixels outside the box are never pulled in, and pixels inside the box are never left partly visible at the border.

Full size in, full size out

The editor shows a scaled preview so large photos fit on screen, but the download is rendered again at the photo's original dimensions, with every region scaled to match. A 4000 pixel wide photo comes back 4000 pixels wide.

The saved file is drawn fresh from pixels, which has a useful side effect: none of the original camera metadata comes with it. GPS coordinates, device model and capture time are all left behind. If you are censoring a photo before sharing it, that removes a second privacy leak at the same time.

Tips for a clean result

  • Draw the box a little larger than the thing you are hiding. Edges of a face or a line of text that sit just outside the box stay perfectly readable.
  • Check the result at full size before you share it. A strength that looks heavy in a small preview can be mild on a large image.
  • Use one box per face in a group photo rather than one large box, so the rest of the picture stays usable.
  • Keep the original file somewhere private. The censored download cannot be reversed back into it, which is the point.

Also useful

Crop Image →Watermark Image →EXIF Data →

FAQ

What blur effects are available?+
Gaussian blur (smooth), pixelate (mosaic), and solid black block. The black block is the most thorough — nothing is recoverable from it.
Can I blur multiple areas?+
Yes. Draw a selection, apply the effect, then draw another selection in a different area. Add as many as you need.
Can I undo a blur?+
Yes, while the editor is open. Once you download the image, the blur is permanent — so save a backup of the original before you start if you think you might need it.
Is this good enough to hide faces permanently?+
For most purposes, yes. Gaussian blur and pixelate can theoretically be partially reversed by AI tools in ideal conditions. For high-stakes situations — legal documents, whistleblower images — use the solid black block instead.
Can I adjust the blur strength?+
Yes. There is a strength slider to control how heavy the blur or pixelation effect is.
Does the download keep the original resolution?+
Yes. The preview is scaled to fit your screen, but the saved file is rendered at the full original size with every region scaled to match.
Can I mix blur and solid blocks in one image?+
Yes. Choose an effect before drawing each region. You can blur faces and put solid blocks over names in the same picture.
Does this remove location data from my photo?+
Yes, as a side effect. The downloaded file is created from pixels only, so the GPS position, camera model and other metadata in the original are not carried over.
Does it work on a phone?+
Yes. Drag with your finger to draw a region. The canvas stops the page from scrolling while you draw so the box goes where you meant it.
What format is the download?+
A JPEG photo comes back as a high quality JPEG and anything else comes back as PNG, so the file stays a sensible size without adding visible compression.