Step-by-Step
- Upload your photo.
- Choose blur or pixelate as your effect.
- Draw a selection over the area you want to censor — a face, a license plate, a piece of text.
- Adjust the strength if the tool allows it — stronger settings obscure more thoroughly.
- Download the result.
Covering Multiple Areas
If a photo has more than one thing to censor — several faces, or a license plate and a street sign — most tools let you draw multiple separate selections in the same session, applying the effect to each one before you export the final image.
Choosing an Appropriately Strong Setting
A light blur or coarse pixelation might not obscure enough detail to actually be effective — particularly for faces, where even a partially visible outline can sometimes remain recognizable. Err toward a stronger setting than feels necessary, especially for anything genuinely sensitive.
Check the Result Before Sharing
Before posting or sending a censored image, zoom in on the covered area and honestly ask whether the underlying detail is genuinely obscured, not just softened. If there's any doubt, increase the strength or, for the highest-stakes situations, consider a solid opaque cover instead of blur or pixelation entirely.
Ready to censor your own photo?
Try the Blur / Pixelate Tool