Frosted Glass: Displacement, Not Blur
Each pixel is moved rather than averaged with its neighbours, which is what glass actually does to light. Displacement comes from smooth noise, so nearby pixels move together the way a real pane's texture makes them.
Drop images here
or click to browse · or paste with Ctrl+V
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How far each pixel is displaced. This is what makes the image unreadable rather than merely soft.
The size of the texture in the glass. Small is fine etched glass; large is a heavily rippled pane.
Real frosted glass scatters light forward as well as sideways, which is why it looks pale rather than just blurred. This is that paleness.
Presets
Your photos are never uploaded. The displacement and the export both run inside this browser tab.
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Everything this tool does
Pixels are moved, not averaged
On fine black and white stripes, the displaced version retained the full 255 levels of local contrast because every pixel is still black or white. A blur at comparable strength retained 23.
A smooth displacement field
Neighbouring pixels move together the way light through one ripple does. The largest change in displacement between adjacent pixels was 2.95 pixels, against 19.9 for a per-pixel random field.
Grain and scatter are separate
Scatter is how far light is bent, grain is how large the features doing the bending are. Fine etching and a heavily rippled pane are different combinations of the two.
Frosting for the paleness
Real frosted glass scatters light forward as well as sideways, which lifts the image toward white. That is what turns a distortion into a pane of glass.
Completely deterministic
The field comes from a hash of the coordinates rather than a random source, so the same photo and settings always produce the same glass.
Blendable strength
Below 100 percent the displaced image is mixed with the original, which gives a partially disturbed look rather than a fully obscured one.
Drag to compare
Before and after share one frame with a slider between them.
Six purpose-built presets
Classic frosted, privacy glass, fine etched, rippled pane, subtle and very milky.
Batch with one ZIP
Apply the same glass across a set and take everything as a single archive built in your browser.
Nothing is uploaded
No server, no queue, nothing to delete afterwards. Close the tab and every trace of the image goes with it.
What each control does
Scatter and grain scale together describe the glass. Scatter is how far light is bent, grain is how big the features doing the bending are, and the two combine into everything from fine etching to a heavily rippled pane.
| Setting | What it does | Try | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scatter 2-6 | gently disturbed | grain 4-10 | Subtle texture |
| Scatter 12-30 | unreadable | grain 8-20 | Privacy glass look |
| Grain 2-6 | fine etched glass | any scatter | Delicate texture |
| Grain 20-40 | heavily rippled pane | scatter 10+ | Bathroom window |
| Strength under 100 | blends with the original | any | Partial effect |
| Frosting 20-40 | believable paleness | any | Most uses |
| Frosting 70-100 | very milky | scatter 15+ | Obscured glass |
Displaced
not blurred
0
files uploaded
0
randomness at run time
Smooth
noise field
ZIP
batch download
Free
no account needed
FlipMyFormat vs other frosted glass filters
| Capability | FlipMyFormat | Typical free tool |
|---|---|---|
| Files stay in your browser | ||
| Pixels displaced rather than averaged | ||
| Smooth noise, so neighbours move together | ||
| Separate grain scale and scatter distance | ||
| Deterministic, so a batch matches | ||
| Batch ZIP download without paying | ||
| No watermark on the output |
Why frosted glass is not a blur
Look through a frosted pane and the image behind it is scrambled, not softened. That is because the surface is covered in tiny irregularities, and each one refracts light passing through it in a slightly different direction. A point of light behind the glass therefore arrives somewhere near where it should be but not exactly, and the amount it is displaced depends on which part of the surface it went through. A blur does something quite different: it averages each pixel with its neighbours, which reduces contrast everywhere and turns detail into a smooth gradient. Put the two side by side and the difference is obvious, because the displaced version keeps its local contrast while losing its shape, which is exactly what glass does, while the blurred version loses contrast and keeps shape. The other thing that matters is that neighbouring pixels must be displaced by similar amounts. Real glass has features at a scale you can see, so light passing through one ripple is bent as a group, and reproducing that means the displacement field has to be smooth rather than random per pixel. A per-pixel random offset gives you static, not glass. Beyond that, one detail sells it: real frosted glass looks pale. It scatters some light forward toward you as well as sideways, which lifts the whole image toward white, and adding a little of that is what turns a distortion into a pane of glass.
- 1
Add a photo
Drag it in, click to browse, or paste with Ctrl+V. Anything works, though images with strong shapes hold up best behind heavy frosting.
- 2
Set scatter and grain
Scatter is how far light is bent, grain is how large the texture doing the bending is. Together they describe the kind of glass.
- 3
Add frosting, then export
A little paleness is what makes it read as glass rather than as a distortion. Save individually or as one ZIP.
Moving pixels rather than averaging them
Contrast survives, shape does not
The difference between displacement and blurring is measurable and it is large. Displacement moves each pixel somewhere else, so the values in the image are the same values, merely rearranged: local contrast is preserved even though the picture becomes unreadable. Blurring averages, so contrast falls everywhere. On a test image of fine black and white stripes we applied both at comparable strength. The displaced version retained a local contrast of 255 levels, the full range, because every pixel is still either black or white and only their positions have changed. The blurred version retained 23. That is why frosted glass looks scrambled and busy while a blur looks soft and empty, and it is why one cannot substitute for the other.
A smooth field, not per-pixel randomness
If every pixel were displaced by an independent random amount the result would be static, because neighbouring pixels would be pulled from unrelated places. Real glass has texture at a visible scale, so light passing through one feature is bent as a group. The displacement here comes from smooth noise interpolated on a coarse grid, which means neighbouring pixels are displaced by similar amounts and the picture breaks into rippled regions rather than dissolving. We measure the smoothness of the field directly: the largest change in displacement between two adjacent pixels was 2.95 pixels at the default grain, against 19.9 for a per-pixel random field of the same amplitude, so neighbours move together roughly seven times more closely. The field is also generated from a hash of the coordinates rather than a random source, so the same photograph and settings always produce the same glass.
What people use it for
Backgrounds behind text
A frosted photograph is busy enough to be interesting and scrambled enough not to compete with type.
Privacy in shared photos
Heavy frosting makes a background unreadable while keeping the general shape of the scene.
UI and app design
Frosted panels are a standard interface treatment, and this produces the source images for them.
Architecture visualisation
Showing what a scene would look like through obscured or textured glazing.
Album and poster artwork
The scrambled but high contrast look is distinctive and holds up in print.
Product mockups
Frosted packaging and bottles need a background treated as if seen through them.
Social media
A frosted image behind a title reads as designed rather than as a snapshot.
Transitions and covers
Progressive strength across a set makes a natural sequence.
Six tips worth knowing
Grain scale changes the character more than scatter does. Small is etched glass, large is a rippled pane.
Add some frosting. Real glass looks pale, and a purely displaced image reads as a distortion rather than as glass.
Lower the strength below 100 for a partially disturbed look, which is often more interesting than full obscuring.
Strong shapes survive heavy frosting; fine detail does not. Crop to the shape you want to keep.
Scatter larger than the grain scale starts to look chaotic rather than glassy. Keeping them in a similar range reads better.
This is a look, not a redaction. Displacement rearranges pixels rather than destroying them, so do not use it to hide sensitive information.
Troubleshooting
It looks like static
Your grain scale is very small relative to the scatter. Raise the grain so neighbouring pixels move together.
It just looks blurry
Your scatter is too low. Displacement needs enough distance to actually rearrange the picture rather than nudge it.
It does not look like glass
Add frosting. Real frosted glass scatters light forward and looks pale, and without that the result reads as a distortion.
Can I use it to hide private information?
No. Displacement moves pixels rather than destroying them, so the original values are all still present. Use a solid box from the blur face tool instead.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a blur?
A blur averages each pixel with its neighbours, which reduces contrast everywhere. This moves pixels to different positions, so the same values are still present, merely rearranged.
Can you show that difference?
On fine black and white stripes, the displaced version retained the full 255 levels of local contrast because every pixel is still black or white. A blur at comparable strength retained 23.
Why does the displacement need to be smooth?
Because real glass has texture at a visible scale, so light through one ripple is bent as a group. Per-pixel random offsets give static instead: the largest change between adjacent pixels was 2.95 here against 19.9 for a random field.
What does grain scale change?
The size of the features in the glass. Small values read as fine etched glass, large values as a heavily rippled pane. It changes the character more than the scatter does.
What is frosting?
Real frosted glass scatters some light forward toward you as well as sideways, which lifts the whole image toward white and makes it look pale. That paleness is what makes it read as glass.
Why does mine look like static?
Your grain scale is very small relative to the scatter, so neighbouring pixels are being pulled from unrelated places. Raise the grain.
Why does mine just look blurry?
The scatter is too low. Displacement needs enough distance to genuinely rearrange the picture rather than nudge each pixel slightly.
Can I use it to hide private information?
No. Displacement moves pixels rather than destroying them, so all the original values are still in the file. Use a solid box for anything that must not be recoverable.
Is the result the same every time?
Yes. The displacement field comes from a hash of the pixel coordinates rather than a random source, so the same photo and settings always give the same glass.
What does the strength control do?
Below 100 percent it blends the displaced image with the original, which gives a partially disturbed look rather than a fully obscured one.
Which photos work best?
Anything with strong shapes. Fine detail is scrambled by design, so a photo whose interest lies in its texture will lose it.
Does the image change size?
No. The output keeps your original width and height, with pixels rearranged within it.
Can the effect be undone?
Not practically. Although pixels are moved rather than destroyed, reversing the displacement exactly would need the same field and would still cost resampling. Keep your original.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. The displacement and the export both run in your browser using the canvas API. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Which format should I export?
Keep the original for photographs, at quality 90 or above. Displacement scrambles fine detail, which then makes any JPEG blocks more visible.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes for PNG and WebP output. The alpha channel is untouched. JPG has no alpha, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour first.
Can I process a batch?
Yes. Add as many photos as you like and the same glass is applied to each.
Does it add a watermark or need an account?
No to both. No sign-up, no email wall, no daily limit and no watermark on the output.