How to blur part of an image: open it in a blur tool, draw a box over the face, plate or address, choose blur, pixelate or a solid box, and save a new copy. Phones have no built-in blur brush, so use a browser tool or Markup's solid shapes. For anything sensitive, a solid black box is safer than pixelation.
Sellers blur things all the time: a shipping label in the corner of a packing photo, a customer's name on an order slip, a house number behind a product shot in the yard, a child in a lifestyle photo, a license plate on a car for sale. This guide covers the free ways to do it on a phone or computer, our free blur image tool, which runs in your browser and never uploads the photo, and the part most guides skip: which effect actually hides information and which only looks like it does.
- Quickest: a browser blur tool. Draw boxes, pick blur, pixelate or black box, download at full size.
- On a phone: iPhone Markup and Google Photos have no blur brush, but a filled shape at full opacity covers things completely. Never use the see-through highlighter.
- Sensitive text (names, addresses, order or card numbers): use a solid box. Light blur and coarse pixelation of small text can sometimes be read again.
- Faces and plates in the background: strong blur or pixelation is usually enough.
- Also check the file: photos can carry GPS location in their metadata. Strip it before posting.
What's the easiest way to blur part of an image?
Use a tool that lets you draw a box over the area and apply the effect, then save a new file. Our blur image tool does this in any browser on a phone or computer, with no sign-up, no credits and no watermark.
- Open the page and drop in your photo (JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC).
- Drag on the photo to draw a box over each area you want to hide. Move or resize the boxes as needed; you can add as many as you like.
- Pick the effect: Blur, Pixelate or Black box, and set its strength with the slider.
- Use Undo to step back, or Clear to remove every box.
- Download as JPG or PNG at the photo's full resolution.
The effect and strength apply to every box in one pass. To black out an address and blur a face in the same photo, download with one effect, open the saved file and add the second. The photo is redrawn as a new file, so camera details and GPS location in the original aren't copied to it.
How do I blur part of a photo on iPhone?
The Photos app has no blur brush, but there are two built-in ways to hide something: cover it with a solid shape in Markup, or pixelate a face with Clean Up on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence.
Cover it with Markup
- Open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, then the Markup pen.
- Tap + and choose a shape, such as the square.
- Pick black, set the shape to filled if your iOS version offers a fill option, then drag and resize it over the area.
- Tap Done twice to save.
You can also draw over the area with the pen at full opacity and maximum thickness. Don't use the highlighter: it's see-through, and the text underneath stays readable. Markup changes the original photo, and anyone with access to your library can tap Revert to undo it, so duplicate the photo first and share the edited copy.
Pixelate a face with Clean Up
On iPhones with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro and newer models), open the photo, tap Edit, choose Clean Up and brush over a face. Instead of erasing it, Photos covers it with a pixelated block. It's quick for a stranger in the background, but you don't control the pixel size, so don't rely on it for text.
How do I blur part of a photo on Android?
Google Photos doesn't have a blur brush either, so cover the area in Markup or use a browser tool. In Google Photos, tap Edit, then Markup, choose the Pen in black and draw over the area until it's fully covered, then tap Done and Save copy. Some phone makers' gallery apps include a mosaic or blur effect in their editor; the name and location vary by brand and version. For neat, even results on any Android phone, the browser tool is faster than scribbling.
Should I use blur, pixelation or a black box?
Use a solid box for anything sensitive, and blur or pixelation where you only need to stop casual recognition. The difference matters more than it looks.
| Effect | Looks | Hides small text | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light blur | Soft and natural | No, often readable again | Background clutter, not privacy |
| Strong blur | Smooth, no detail | Usually, if very strong | Faces and plates in the background |
| Pixelation | Blocky mosaic | Not reliably | Faces at a distance, logos |
| Solid black box | Obvious redaction | Yes, pixels replaced | Names, addresses, order, card and account numbers |
| Crop out | Nothing left to see | Yes | Anything near the edge of the frame |
Blur and pixelation don't delete information; they average it. Each block or smudge still depends on the pixels underneath. Security researchers have shown that pixelated or lightly blurred text, especially short strings in a known font like a number on a label, can sometimes be guessed back by testing which text would produce the same pattern. Whether that works on your photo depends on the size, font and strength used, so don't gamble with anything that matters. A solid box replaces the pixels completely and can't be reversed from the image.
Two more rules for sensitive information. Cover the whole thing, not just the middle, since a few visible characters at each end can be enough to identify a number. And check the rest of the photo: reflections in glass or packaging and the back of a label showing through thin paper give away more than people expect.
What should sellers blur in product photos?
Anything that identifies a person or a place who didn't agree to be in the listing. A quick scan before posting catches most of it.
- Shipping labels and packing slips: names, addresses, barcodes and tracking numbers. Black box.
- Faces: people in the background of lifestyle or event photos, and children. Strong blur or pixelation.
- License plates: on cars for sale or parked behind an outdoor shot. Strong blur or box.
- House numbers, street signs and mail: anything that pins down where you live. Box or crop.
- Screens and documents: invoices, emails and order dashboards in the frame. Black box.
- Other brands' logos: props or packaging you don't want to feature. Blur, or remove them entirely.
If you'd rather the thing weren't in the photo at all, removing it often looks better than a blurred patch. Our AI image editor takes a plain instruction such as “remove the shipping label from the table” (8 credits), and our guide on how to remove objects from photos covers the free options too. Marketplace main images should show the product clearly and nothing else, so keep blurred patches to supporting photos and social posts.
Don't forget the hidden location data
Blurring a house number does nothing if the file itself carries GPS coordinates. Most phones save the location a photo was taken in its EXIF metadata, and some sites and messaging apps keep it when you share the original file.
Photos saved from our blur tool don't keep the original's metadata. For photos you post without editing, our free photo metadata remover shows what each file contains, including GPS location, camera and date, and saves clean copies of up to 20 photos at once, in your browser. On iPhone, you can also tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location before sending.
How do I blur the background but keep the product sharp?
Draw a box around the product in our blur tool and turn on Blur everything except the areas. Everything outside the box goes soft. The box has a hard edge, so it looks best when the product fills it. For a natural, portrait-style blur that follows the product's outline, see our guide on how to blur the background of a photo.
Want the product cut out cleanly instead of boxed? Remove the background and get a transparent PNG you can place on any scene.
Remove the background7 days free · 50 credits · No credit cardChecklist before you post
- Scan the whole photo, including corners, reflections and screens.
- Solid box over names, addresses, order, tracking, card and account numbers.
- Strong blur or pixelation over faces and plates you don't need.
- Zoom in on the saved copy to make sure nothing shows through.
- Share the edited copy, not the original, and keep the original private.
- Strip location data from any photo you post unedited.
Frequently asked questions
How do I blur part of a picture for free?
Use a free browser tool: drop in the photo, draw a box over the area, choose blur, pixelate or a black box and download. On a phone, Markup's filled shapes cover an area completely, though they don't blur it.
How do I blur part of a photo on iPhone?
Photos has no blur brush. Cover the area with a filled shape in Markup (Edit > Markup > + > Shape), or on iPhones with Apple Intelligence, use Clean Up to pixelate a face. For a real blur, use a browser tool in Safari.
Can blurred or pixelated text be unblurred?
Sometimes. Light blur and coarse pixelation of short text in a known font have been reversed by researchers who test which text produces the same pattern. A solid black box replaces the pixels, so use one for anything sensitive.
How do I hide a license plate in a photo?
Draw a box over the plate and apply a strong blur, heavy pixelation or a solid box. Cover the whole plate, including the edges, so no characters stay readable.
Is it better to blur or black out personal information?
Black it out. A solid box can't be reversed from the image, while blur and pixelation keep traces of the original. Blur is fine for faces in the background where you only need to prevent casual recognition.
Does blurring a photo remove its location data?
Not always. Editing in place can leave EXIF data such as GPS coordinates in the file. Tools that save a new copy may drop it, but check with a metadata viewer or remove it with a metadata remover before posting.
Remove backgrounds, swap busy scenes for clean ones, or take unwanted objects out with a plain-words edit, keeping your product exactly as shot.
Start free trialSee pricing7 days free · 50 credits · No credit card. Trial images carry a small “Made with aiarter” mark; paid plans export clean files you can use commercially.
