How to blur an image
- 1 Drop your images on the box, or click browse to choose them. You can add many at once.
- 2 Set the blur strength with the slider and check the preview.
- 3 Press Blur. One image downloads directly; several come in a ZIP file.
- 4 Check the new size and file size shown under each image.
Using blur well
A light blur keeps colours and shapes while removing distracting detail, ideal behind text. For hiding information, a pixel effect or cropping is clearer: see Pixelate Image and Crop Image.
- Darken or lighten a blurred background so white or black text is readable.
- Blur also hides JPG compression noise in backgrounds.
- Very strong blur turns photos into soft colour gradients.
Features
Adjustable strength
From a gentle softening to a heavy blur.
Live preview
See the effect on the first image as you move the slider.
Works everywhere
Uses its own blur method, so results are the same in every browser.
When to use it
Text over images
Blur a background photo so headings and buttons stand out. To resize it for a banner, use Resize Image.
Hiding details
Blur a whole screenshot before sharing it. To hide details with blocks instead, use Pixelate Image.
Wallpapers
Turn any photo into a soft, colourful wallpaper.
Placeholders
Create blurred previews for websites while the full image loads.
Related Image tasks
Frequently asked questions
Can I blur only part of an image?
This tool blurs the whole image. To hide one area, crop it out with Crop Image, or pixelate the whole picture.
What blur strength should I use?
5 to 10 pixels softens a background; 20 or more makes shapes unrecognisable.
Is blurring safe for hiding private information?
Strong blur makes text unreadable in most cases, but for passwords, card numbers or ID numbers it is safer to crop them out completely.
Why does a large photo take a few seconds?
Every pixel is recalculated several times. Very large photos take longer, especially on phones.
Does blur reduce the file size?
Often, yes. Blurred images have less detail, so JPG and WebP files usually get smaller.
What kind of blur is it?
Three passes of a box blur, which closely matches a Gaussian blur.
Can I blur many images at once?
Yes; all images in the list get the same blur.
Can I blur a photo on my phone?
Yes. Open this page in your phone's browser, add the photo and move the slider. The blurred copy saves to your downloads or gallery.
Does the blur affect transparent PNG images?
Transparent areas blend softly at the edges, which can create a gentle glow around shapes. Choose a light blur to keep edges cleaner.
What is the difference between blur and soft focus?
A blur spreads every pixel evenly. Soft focus in cameras keeps some sharp detail with a gentle glow, which needs more complex editing.
Are my images uploaded to apply the blur?
No. The blur is calculated in your browser, so the original and the blurred copy stay on your device.
How this tool works. These image tools run entirely in your browser using the Canvas API built into every modern browser, the open-source libheif decoder for iPhone HEIC photos and Tesseract, a widely used open-source OCR engine, for reading text. Each tool is tested with real phone photos, screenshots and scans before it goes live, and nothing you open is sent to a server.
Built and reviewed by Hamza Farooq, founder and lead developer
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