How to Blur a Face in a Photo

Co-authored by Annie Tao

Last Updated: September 2, 2022 References

Social media is more invasive than ever with tagging and linking personal information with pictures. In some situations, like with young kids, you might not want these pictures to be available online. It’s a good thing there are a variety of options for blurring faces in photos. You can blur faces using a website, an Android or iOS app, or a computer image editor.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Choosing a Blurring Service

1
Use an in-built image editor for a simple option. Windows based computers often come with MS Paint, a simple image editing program. Apple computers have Paintbrush and other image manipulating programs as well.^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Expert Interview. 3 March 2021.}
- These programs may be found in various locations on your computer, so it may be quickest to do a keyword search for “MS Paint” or “Paintbrush.”
- To bring up the search function in Windows, press the ⊞ Win and S keys at the same time.^{[2]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  Microsoft Support
  Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
  Go to source} Similarly, access the Apple Finder function by pressing ⌘ Cmd and F.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}
- Other common image manipulating programs you might want to search for (some might suit you better than others) include: Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, and GIMP.
2
Prioritize free-to-use websites for simple blurring. Free-to-use sites are often the quickest and easiest way of blurring a photo. Many of these don’t require registration or new software; all you need to do is visit the site, upload your picture, then use the site interface to blur the faces.^{[4]
X
Expert Source

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Expert Interview. 3 March 2021.}
- Some common free-to-use sites include PicMonkey, LunaPic, and PhotoHide. Of these three, LunaPic is unique in that it automatically detects and blurs faces the moment your picture is uploaded.
- If privacy is a concern, be sure to read the site's terms of use and user agreement carefully. Some sites may record your photos after you upload them.
Advertisement
3
Expect more options and higher quality with pay-to-use services. A feature common to pay-to-use sites is auto-pixelation, which automatically blurs faces. This can be a real time saver if you’ll have to blur faces frequently.
- You might also find pay-to-use services offer a wider range of pixelation options, like light or moderate blurring, which can be used for stylistic effect.
- Lighter blurring will be less obtrusive than heavy blurring, which can make a blurred image more prominent.
- The face detection processes of most pay-to-use services are usually higher quality than free to use services.
4
Search for face blurring apps in the app store. There are quite a few apps out there for blurring your face and protecting your identity in pics. Some may suit your needs better than others. For example, some apps offer fun filters along with the classic pixelated blurring effect.^{[5]
X
Expert Source

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Expert Interview. 3 March 2021.}
- Try finding apps by searching for things like, “face blurring apps,” “face pixelating apps,” “apps to blur faces,” and so on.
- Check out user comments about the app. If it seems like the app team does a good job of responding to customer feedback, it’s usually a good sign.
- Common Android blurring apps include ObscuraCam, Android Hide Face, and Pixlr. iOS blurring apps that are popular include Touch Blur, Photo Editor, and TADAA.
5
Read the privacy agreement before choosing a service. If you’re trying to protect your privacy with blurring, it’s unlikely you’ll want sites saving unblurred copies. Read the privacy agreement and user information carefully before using a service. If you have any doubts, find another service.
- If you’re uncertain whether a site is safe or not, do a general keyword search online for reviews about it. For example, you might search for “reviews for blurmyface.com.”^{[6]
  X
  Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Obscuring Faces with an Image Editor

1
Open the photo with your photo editor. In Windows, right click the photo you want to blur. Right clicking will open a drop-down menu. Hover your cursor over the “Open with” option in the drop-down menu, and select MS Paint, Photoshop, or “Choose another app.”
- If you have to select “Choose another app,” a pop-up window will open a directory of programs. You’ll have to find your image editor in this directory. Try looking in the “Windows Accessories” folder.^{[7]
  X
  Research source}
- Apple users. Hold Ctrl and click the image you want to blur to open a drop-down menu where you’ll find “Open with.” Select Paintbrush, another program, or choose “Other…” to select an editor from your computer program directory.^{[8]
  X
  Research source}
2
Find the blur tool. Even basic image editors usually have a blur tool. In some cases, this may be a warping wand that distorts color, effectively hiding identity similarly to blurring.^{[9]
X
Research source} Use the help feature of your image editor to search for “blur,” “blurring,” or “blur tool.”
- Most programs have a visible “Help” tab somewhere at the top of the program window. “Help” is often the farthest right option in the standard status bar tabs (like “File,” “Edit,” “View,” “Options,” etc.).
3
Blur the faces in the photo. If your program uses a blurring tool, in most cases you can apply the blurring effect by clicking and dragging your cursor over the faces you wish to hide.^{[10]
X
Research source} Some editors may create a blurred circle that overlays faces in the picture. These circles are often drawn by clicking and dragging.^{[11]
X
Research source}
4
Save the photo. Once you’re satisfied that the identities in your picture are sufficiently blurred, save the picture. Now it’s ready to be posted wherever you like, without it compromising your privacy.

Expert Q&A

Question

Is there an app that blurs out faces?

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Annie Tao is an award-winning Professional Lifestyle and Commercial Photographer and the Owner of Annie Tao Photography based in the San Francisco Bay Area. While some of her commercial clients include Starbucks, PayPal, Rice University, and United Airlines, Annie is also passionate about capturing genuine emotions and real moments in people’s lives. She has been recognized as Kodak’s Featured Photographer and has had work featured in The Wall Street Journal, Brides Magazine, and Glamour & Grace.

Annie Tao

Professional Photographer

Expert Answer

Yes, there are tons of free photo editing apps you can download that will do this.
Question

Is there any way to blur photos in the camera?

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Annie Tao is an award-winning Professional Lifestyle and Commercial Photographer and the Owner of Annie Tao Photography based in the San Francisco Bay Area. While some of her commercial clients include Starbucks, PayPal, Rice University, and United Airlines, Annie is also passionate about capturing genuine emotions and real moments in people’s lives. She has been recognized as Kodak’s Featured Photographer and has had work featured in The Wall Street Journal, Brides Magazine, and Glamour & Grace.

Annie Tao

Professional Photographer

Expert Answer

If you have a DSLR, you can adjust the aperture, which is the F/ stop, to a lower number. Typically, anything between 1.4 and 5.6 will make it easy to control what's blurry and what isn't. This effect is called "bokeh."
Question

Which programs can I use on the computer to blur faces?

Annie Tao
Professional Photographer
Annie Tao is an award-winning Professional Lifestyle and Commercial Photographer and the Owner of Annie Tao Photography based in the San Francisco Bay Area. While some of her commercial clients include Starbucks, PayPal, Rice University, and United Airlines, Annie is also passionate about capturing genuine emotions and real moments in people’s lives. She has been recognized as Kodak’s Featured Photographer and has had work featured in The Wall Street Journal, Brides Magazine, and Glamour & Grace.

Annie Tao

Professional Photographer

Expert Answer

Photoshop and Lightroom are probably the two most popular options out there. You just pull the image up in the program and use the blur tool to manually blur out any face you want to hide.