How to Blur Part of an Image
Most of the time you do not want to blur a whole photo — you want to hide one thing in it. A stranger's face in the background. A license plate. A name badge, a house number, a bank card, the address on a parcel. This tool lets you drag a box over exactly that, and only that, gets obscured. The rest of the image stays perfectly sharp, and because everything runs in your browser, the sensitive original never leaves your device.
Upload your image
Drop a photo or screenshot. It loads instantly and is processed entirely on your own device.
Drag over what to hide
Draw a box around each face, plate or detail. Add as many boxes as you need - each one gets blurred independently.
Apply and download
Adjust the strength, choose blur or pixelation, then apply and download the protected image.
Blur or Pixelate — Which Is Safer?
This matters more than most people realise. A weak blur can sometimes be reversed. Blurring is a mathematical operation, and if the blur radius is small relative to the detail underneath, software can make a reasonable attempt at undoing it. Researchers have demonstrated recovering text and even faces from lightly blurred images.
The defence is simple: use a strong setting. A blur radius large enough that the region is a genuine smear, with no recoverable structure, cannot meaningfully be reversed — the information is destroyed, not merely scrambled. If in doubt, turn the strength up well past the point where you can identify anything.
Pixelation — the mosaic censor look — has the same caveat. Large blocks are safe; small blocks are not, because each block still encodes the average colour of the area beneath it, and enough small blocks can be reassembled into a recognisable image. Whichever you choose, err heavily on the side of too much. And remember that blurring the pixels does not touch the file's hidden metadata — run the result through our metadata remover too if the photo is genuinely sensitive.
Common Situations This Tool Solves
Faces of people who did not consent
Bystanders in the background of a photo you want to post have not agreed to appear online. Blurring their faces is the basic courtesy - and in some jurisdictions, the legal requirement.
License plates and house numbers
Selling a car or a house means posting photos that identify exactly where you live and what you drive. Blur the plate and the number before the listing goes up.
Screenshots with personal information
Names, emails, account numbers, addresses - screenshots leak all of it. Drag a box over each one before you share the image in a bug report or a forum post.
Documents and cards being shown for verification
When you must show a document, blur every field that is not needed. There is rarely a reason for the full number, the address and the date of birth to all be visible at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I blur a face in a photo?
Upload the image, make sure Blur areas is selected, and drag a box over the face. Add a box for each face you want hidden, turn the strength up, and apply.
Can a blurred image be un-blurred?
A weak blur can sometimes be partially reversed by software. A strong blur genuinely destroys the information and cannot be recovered. Always use a high strength setting for anything sensitive.
Is blurring or pixelating safer?
Both are safe when applied strongly and both are risky when applied weakly. Large pixel blocks and heavy blur radii are effectively irreversible; light ones are not. Err on the side of too much.
How do I blur a license plate?
Drag a box directly over the plate and apply a strong blur. Check the result at full size before sharing - a plate that is still faintly legible is not protected.
Can I blur multiple areas in one image?
Yes. Draw as many boxes as you need - every face, every plate, every name - and all of them are blurred in a single pass.
Is my photo uploaded to blur it?
No. Everything happens inside your browser. Your photo is never sent to a server, never stored, and never seen by anyone - which is precisely why this is the right tool for sensitive images.
Does blurring remove the hidden metadata too?
No, and this is a common and dangerous mistake. Blurring changes pixels, not the file's EXIF data - which may still contain the GPS coordinates. Run the result through our Remove Metadata tool as well.
How do I blur the background of a photo?
Select Blur whole image to blur everything uniformly. Blurring only the background while keeping a subject sharp requires subject detection, which is beyond what a simple box selection can do.
What blur strength should I use?
For anything sensitive, high. If you can still make out the shape of a letter or a facial feature, it is not strong enough. When in doubt, push it further.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Open this page in Safari or Chrome, select a photo, and drag your finger over the area you want to hide - touch selection works exactly like a mouse.
Will blurring reduce my image quality?
Only in the blurred regions, which is the point. The rest of the image is untouched. Choose PNG output if you want the sharp areas preserved losslessly.
Is this image blur tool really free?
Completely free, with no limits, no watermarks, no signup and no premium wall. Everything runs in your browser, so there are no server costs to pass on.
Last updated: July 11, 2026 · FlipMyFormat Image Blur Tool
Written and maintained by the FlipMyFormat team