Blur Image
Add blur effect to images
Click or drop an image hereChoose an image
About Blur Image
Blur Image softens an entire picture with a Gaussian blur. The slider sets the blur radius (the standard deviation) from 1 to 20 px of the full-size image. The blur is computed on your graphics chip through WebGL2, or, when that is not available, on the processor, split across up to six parallel tasks when the picture is large enough, in every browser, with the edge pixels repeated so no pale frame appears around the result. It blurs everything: there is no brush, rectangle, or face detection. The photo stays in your browser.
Example
One row of 41 pixels with a hard edge between black (0) and white (255), and the same row after "Apply blur" at 5 px. The edge becomes a ramp 26 pixels wide; the graphics-chip version gives the same values within one level. The blur is made of three quick box passes whose spread is exactly 5 px: a perfect Gaussian curve would differ by 2 levels at most.
Before (gray level of each pixel)
Pixels 1–20: 0 Pixels 21–41: 255
After a 5 px blur
Pixels 1–7: 0
Pixels 8–33: 1 2 4 7 12 18 26 36 49 64 81 99 118
137 156 174 191 206 219 229 237 243 248 251 253 254
Pixels 34–41: 255How to blur an image
- 1Click the upload box and choose the photo to soften.
- 2Set "Blur" anywhere from 1 to 20 px; it starts at 5.
- 3Click "Apply blur" and wait for the preview.
- 4Click "Download": a blurred JPG, PNG, or WebP is saved in its own format, any other picture as a PNG.
Formats and limits
- Blur radius
- 1 to 20 px (standard deviation of the Gaussian), measured on the full-size image
- Input formats
- JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF, and other pictures the browser can decode
- Output format
- Same format for JPG (quality 92), PNG, and WebP; PNG for the rest
- Largest image
- Up to 268 MP; 24 and 48 MP photos were tested on a real iPhone on October 17, 2026
Common uses
- A background behind a title
- A website banner or a slide needs a photo that does not compete with its text: a blur of 15 to 20 px on a 1920 px photo leaves colors and shapes but no sharp detail.
- A screenshot that shows the layout, not the content
- For a tutorial, blur a full screenshot of a chat or a dashboard at 10 px or more, so readers see where things are without reading private messages; check the result at full size before posting it.
- A calmer wallpaper
- A busy photo used as a lock screen or desktop wallpaper makes icons hard to read; a light blur of 3 to 6 px keeps the scene recognizable behind them.
Which tool to use
- Pixelate Image: hides detail with square blocks, from 2 to 50 px or 1% to 20% of the shorter side, instead of a soft blur; it also treats the whole picture.
- Filter Video: blurs a whole video at a fixed strength (sigma 3) on our video service and returns an MP4.
Where your image is processed
The blur runs on this device, on its graphics chip through WebGL2 or else on its processor, and the photo is not sent to a server. The blurred file exists only in the tab until you save it. When an error message is shown, its cleaned text, the tool and the browser's name and version are reported to us; the picture is not.
Frequently asked questions
Can I blur only a face or one area?
No. The blur covers the whole picture; there is no brush, rectangle, or face detection. Cropping first would only keep the part you blur, so for a partial blur use a photo editor that has a selection tool.
Does the blur leave a light border?
No. Edge pixels are repeated outward before blurring, so the borders keep the colors of the picture instead of fading to transparent or white. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari all use this same computed blur here.
Can it blur large phone photos?
Yes, up to 268 MP. Full-size 24 and 48 MP photos were blurred on a real iPhone on October 17, 2026; on iPhone and iPad, pictures above 16.7 MP are blurred directly in memory instead of on one canvas.
Why does the blur look weaker on a large photo?
The value is measured in pixels of the full-size image. A 4000 px wide photo shown 1000 px wide on screen displays a 5 px blur as about 1 px, so a large photo needs a value near 20 for a strong effect.
Can I see the blur while I move the slider?
No. The slider only sets the value; click "Apply blur" to compute it on the full image, and the preview appears above the download button. Change the value and click again to try another strength.
Does blurring change the file format or quality?
JPG and WebP files are saved again in their own format at quality 92, and a PNG stays lossless. GIF, BMP, AVIF, and other pictures come out as PNG, and an animated GIF or WebP keeps only its first frame.
Does the blurred file keep the photo's location data?
No. The result is a new file made from the pixels, so EXIF data such as the camera model, the date taken, and the GPS position is not copied; a phone photo is turned upright before it is blurred.
Tips and tricks
- ✓For a soft background behind a caption, blur the photo here, then write on it with Add Text to Image.