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An image and the areas to obscure.
Pixel workshop
Blur or pixelate an image
Obscure a face, plate, or address before sharing.
Privacy built inYour work stays with you
Private image workspace
Blur or pixelate an image
Obscure the whole image or only the areas you select.
Your work stays private in your browser while you use this tool.
What does blur or pixelate an image do?
Blur or pixelate obscures either a whole JPEG, PNG, WebP, or AVIF image or rectangles you draw on it. The exported copy contains the obscured pixels themselves — the original detail is replaced, not covered by an overlay that could be removed. Re-encoding through the canvas also drops the source metadata.
- Input
- An image and the areas to obscure.
- Result
- A copy with the selected areas obscured.
- Price
- Free
- Account
- Not required
How to use blur or pixelate an image
Choose your settings
Obscure a face, plate, or address before sharing.
Save or copy
A copy with the selected areas obscured.
A practical tip
Obscured pixels are replaced in the exported copy, not just covered over.
When to use blur or pixelate an image
Hide a face or a number plate before posting a photo publicly.
Obscure an address, account number, or name in a screenshot.
Blur a background before sharing a picture taken at home.
Worked example
A concrete blur or pixelate an image example
- Input
- A screenshot with one rectangle drawn over an account number, pixelate at block size 12
- Result
- That area is replaced with 12-pixel blocks; every other pixel is untouched.
What to expect
How it works
Regions are stored as fractions of the image, so a rectangle drawn on a scaled preview maps to the same pixels at full size. Blur uses the canvas filter; pixelation downscales the region and draws it back with smoothing disabled, which is what produces hard blocks instead of a soft blur. Every render starts again from the untouched source, so adjusting the strength never compounds a previous pass.
Know before using
Limits and edge cases
- A light blur over small text can sometimes be reversed. For anything that must stay unreadable, use pixelation at a large block size, or cover the area entirely.
- The tool obscures what you select. It does not detect faces or text for you, so reviewing the exported copy before sharing is still on you.
Standards and sources
Common questions
Blur or pixelate an image FAQ
Is blur or pixelate an image free to use?
Yes. Blur or pixelate an image is free to use.
Does blur or pixelate an image keep my work private?
Yes. Your work stays private while you use the tool — nothing you enter is uploaded.
Can the blurred area be recovered from the exported file?
The pixels are genuinely replaced, so there is no hidden original layer to peel away. A weak blur over small, high-contrast text can still sometimes be reconstructed, which is why pixelation at a large block size is the safer choice for anything sensitive.
Does the exported copy still carry the original photo's metadata?
No. The image is redrawn and re-encoded through a canvas, which keeps only the pixels. That matters here: obscuring a face while leaving GPS coordinates attached would defeat the point.