Face redaction in group photo
Input: 1920x1080 group photo, rectangle around one face, blur 20
Output: 1920x1080 PNG with that one face smoothly blurred, all others sharp
UtilityKit
500+ fast, free tools. Most run in your browser only; Image & PDF tools upload files to the backend when you run them.
Image Blur Region
Draw a rectangle and blur just that part of the image. Hide faces, plates, or sensitive text.
About Image Blur Region
The Image Blur Region tool gives you a precise way to blur only the part of an image you choose. Draw a rectangle with your mouse or finger, set the blur strength from 2 to 40 pixels, and click Apply — the rest of the image stays sharp. Unlike heavy pixelation, a Gaussian-style blur preserves the general shapes and color tones of the blurred region while making fine detail unrecoverable. You can apply blur to multiple regions in sequence before downloading. Everything happens in your browser; sensitive images such as identity documents, screenshots of private chats, or photos containing license plates never touch a server.
Why use Image Blur Region
- Selective blur — only the region you choose is affected, the rest stays pixel-sharp.
- Multi-region support means you can blur a face, a plate, and a screen all in one image.
- Adjustable strength from subtle defocus to full unrecoverable blur.
- Touch-friendly rectangle drawing for phones and tablets.
- True Gaussian-style blur via the browser's native filter — fast and smooth.
- 100% browser-based — sensitive content never leaves your device.
How to use Image Blur Region
- Upload your image with the file picker or drag-and-drop.
- Drag a rectangle on the image to mark the area you want to blur.
- Adjust the Blur strength slider — 2px is subtle, 40px makes fine detail unrecoverable.
- Click Apply Blur to commit the effect to the selected rectangle.
- Repeat for additional regions; click Reset to start over.
- Click Download PNG to save the result with all blurred regions baked in.
When to use Image Blur Region
- When publishing a photo with bystanders whose faces should not be identifiable.
- When sharing a screenshot that contains an account number or email address.
- When posting a vehicle photo and you want to obscure the license plate.
- When redacting confidential information in a UI screenshot.
- When creating a defocused background effect for product photography.
- When obscuring brand logos in a photo for editorial or fair-use purposes.
Examples
License plate
Input: 1280x720 car photo, rectangle on plate, blur 30
Output: 1280x720 PNG with the plate fully unreadable, rest of vehicle in focus
Multi-region screenshot
Input: 1440x900 dashboard screenshot, three blurred rectangles covering email, phone, address
Output: 1440x900 PNG with three independent blurred areas, all PII obscured
Tips
- For privacy redaction, use blur strength 20+ — lower values can sometimes be partially reversed with deconvolution.
- If the rectangle is too small, the blur may not be strong enough; expand the selection slightly past the sensitive area.
- Apply blur twice to the same region for extra coverage on small text like email addresses.
- Combine with the Pixelate tool when you need maximum redaction certainty.
- Use Reset before changing strategy — this clears all prior blurs in one click.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can blurred regions be reversed?▾
For blur strength 20 and above, practical reversal is not feasible without massive computational effort. Very low strengths can sometimes be partially recovered, so use 20+ for sensitive content.
How is this different from pixelation?▾
Blur produces a smooth gradient that preserves general shape and color; pixelation produces hard-edged colored squares. Blur looks more natural; pixelation is more visually obvious.
Does the tool upload my image?▾
No. All blur computation runs locally in your browser via the Canvas API filter. Your image never leaves your device.
Can I blur multiple regions in one image?▾
Yes. Each Apply Blur click commits to the canvas, so you can blur a face, then a plate, then a screen, then download the combined result.
What blur strength should I use for sensitive text?▾
Use 25 or higher for redacting names, addresses, or account numbers. Anything below 15 may leave readable traces.
Why does my blurred region have a faint edge?▾
Because blur uses pixels just outside the rectangle as part of the average, the edge can show subtle banding. Expand the rectangle slightly past the sensitive area to avoid this.
Can I blur a circle or irregular shape?▾
Currently only rectangular regions are supported. For irregular shapes, blur the smallest containing rectangle and accept some over-coverage.
Does Reset lose my work?▾
Yes — Reset reverts to the original uploaded image. Download intermediate copies if you want to keep progress.
Explore the category
Glossary
- Gaussian blur
- An image-blurring method that averages each pixel with its neighbors using a Gaussian kernel — produces smooth, natural-looking defocus.
- Blur radius
- How far each pixel is averaged with its neighbors — larger radius means more blur and less recoverable detail.
- Region of interest (ROI)
- The user-selected rectangle that limits processing to just that area of the image.
- Redaction
- Obscuring sensitive parts of an image or document so the underlying information cannot be read.
- Canvas filter
- A CSS-style filter (like blur, sepia, brightness) applied to a canvas drawing context for image processing.
- Compositing
- Combining multiple layers of image data — here, drawing the blurred region back onto the original canvas.