PhotoRiyaHow to pixelate part of an image
Drop your picture onto the box above, then drag over the area to censor. It turns into a mosaic of coarse squares at once. Strength makes the squares bigger, so more of the original is hidden. Add more boxes, undo the last one, and press Download.
The mosaic is calculated from the average colour of each square, so nothing of the original detail remains inside a block.
Why pixelate?
Pixelation is the best-known way to censor a picture, and people recognise it straight away, which makes it clear that something was hidden on purpose. It's popular for faces in videos and photos, for licence plates and for adult content. It's also a stylistic effect: pixelate a whole picture by drawing one big box.
How strong should it be?
The squares need to be big enough that the hidden thing can't be made out. A small face needs a coarser mosaic than a large one, because there are fewer squares across it. If you can still tell what it is, raise the strength. For text, account numbers or anything sensitive, use Black box instead: even a coarse mosaic of text can sometimes be partly recovered.
Questions people ask
How do I pixelate part of an image?
Drop your image onto the tool above and drag over the area to pixelate. Make the squares bigger with the Strength slider, then press Download.
Can I pixelate the whole image?
Yes. Drag one box over the entire picture.
How do I censor a number plate or face?
Draw a box (or an oval for faces) over it and choose Pixelate, or Black box for complete cover.
Is my picture uploaded to a server?
No. The picture is edited inside your browser tab, on your own device, and nothing is sent anywhere. That matters when the thing you're hiding is private.
Does the saved picture still contain location and camera data?
No. The saved copy is written fresh from the picture's pixels, so the EXIF data of the original, including any GPS location, isn't carried over. Only a standard colour profile is added.
Is blurring or pixelating safe for hiding text?
Not completely. Strong blurring and large mosaics make faces and text unreadable to people, but weak settings can sometimes be partly recovered, especially for text. For passwords, account numbers and other sensitive details, use the Black box option, which replaces the pixels entirely.
What file formats can I save?
PNG, JPG or WebP, chosen under the picture. PNG is lossless, JPG is smallest.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no limit, no watermark and no account. PhotoRiya is open source under the MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses.
More free tools
- Blur part of an image draw a box, hide the restBlur, pixelate or black out parts of an image: faces, number plates, names and more.
- Blur faces in a photo to protect privacyBlur or pixelate faces in a photo with oval boxes.
- EXIF data remover to clean photos before sharingRemove EXIF, GPS, XMP and text metadata from JPG, PNG and WebP photos, with no recompression.