Blur a photo background
Blur the background like a portrait shot while the person stays sharp.
Drop the photo whose background you want blurred
or click to choose (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, .heic), or paste from the clipboard (Ctrl+V). Up to 10 MB per file.
Works best on people and products with a clear edge. The subject is found by the same model as background removal, so the two tools share a daily limit. The photo is processed on our server and deleted the moment the result is sent back.
- Runs on our server
- Free, no sign-up
More about Blur a photo background
How background blur works
The tool mimics a phone's portrait mode: the subject stays sharp and everything behind it melts into a soft blur, as if shot with a wide-aperture lens. The subject is found by the U²-Net neural network, the same one that powers background removal. It returns a cut-out with a transparent background and the rest happens in your browser.
Under the cut-out goes a blurred copy of the original photo, or a solid or white backdrop, optionally darkened so the subject stands out. Blur and darkening are live sliders; the photo is not sent to the server again while you adjust them.
- Works best on people and products with a clearly defined edge.
- Struggles with fine hair, glass and translucent fabric, although a blurred background hides imperfections far better than a removed one, since the colours around the edge stay similar.
- Your photo is never stored: the server processes it in memory, returns the cut-out and discards the data.
Frequently asked questions
Does the photo leave my computer?
Yes, it goes to our server where the segmentation model runs; it would be far too slow in a browser. The photo exists only for the duration of processing, in memory, and is not written to disk or logs, exactly as with background removal. Blurring and compositing happen on your device.
How many photos can I process?
Two a day for free, no limit with Premium. The free limit is shared with the background removal tool because both use the same model. Adjusting the sliders does not count; only finding the subject does.
Will the photo lose quality?
The result keeps the original dimensions. PNG is lossless; JPG shrinks the file according to the quality you pick, and 80 to 90 % is plenty for the web or messaging. The blur is computed at full size, so the download looks the same as the preview.
The model left part of the background sharp or ate some hair. What now?
Open the photo in the background removal tool, where you can fix the mask with a brush: one stroke restores missing hair, the other erases leftover background. Then place the corrected cut-out on a blurred backdrop in your editor, or simply choose a solid background there.
Why is there a light halo around the edge?
Blurring smears the subject's colours into its surroundings, and with strong contrast it shows. The tool draws the blurred background slightly enlarged to tuck the halo under the cut-out. If it is still visible, lower the blur or add a little darkening.