Blur Faces in Photos
Add a photo and faces are found and hidden automatically. For things it can't detect, like licence plates or name tags, draw a box yourself.
🔒 Your images are processed in this browser and are never uploaded.
How the face blur works
Posting a group shot or a street photo with strangers' faces clearly visible can raise privacy concerns. This tool uses Google's open-source MediaPipe face detector to locate each face, then draws a slightly generous box from forehead to chin and hides only that area. To catch small faces in group photos, it scans the whole image and then takes a second look tile by tile.
The AI engine and model (about 4–5MB) are downloaded from Google's servers once; your photo never leaves this device. Automatic detection isn't perfect — profiles, the backs of heads, masked faces and tiny faces can be missed — so always check the preview before saving and draw boxes over anything that was skipped. The preview is scaled down to fit your screen, but the saved photo keeps its original size.
| Style | Look | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Blur | Soft and natural | Blog and travel photos, passers-by in the background |
| Pixelate | Blocky squares | News-style anonymising, children's faces |
| Black box | Fully covered | Licence plates, name tags, addresses, tracking numbers |
To make the result smaller, use the image compressor; for brightness or cropping, continue in the photo editor. More tools are in the image tools collection.
Frequently asked questions
If my photo is not uploaded, how does it find faces?
The first time you use the tool, it downloads Google's open-source face detection model and engine (about 4–5MB in total) from Google's servers, once. All the face finding and blurring then happens inside the browser on your device, so the photo itself is never sent anywhere.
It misses a face or picks the wrong spot.
Side profiles, faces with masks or sunglasses, and very small faces can be missed. Turn on "Draw boxes manually" and drag over the photo to add a box. Tap a wrong box once to switch its blur off. Always check the preview to make sure every face is covered before you save.
Can I blur licence plates or name tags too?
Licence plates, name tags, addresses and shipping labels are not detected automatically. Draw a box over them with "Draw boxes manually" and they are hidden the same way as faces — blur, pixelate or a black box.
Can someone un-blur the saved photo?
The saved file does not keep the original pixels of the hidden areas, so it cannot be restored from that file. Light blur or large pixel blocks can still leave a face recognisable, though, so for information that must stay hidden, use a black box or a strength of 7 or higher.