How do I pixelate part of an image?
Drop the image in, keep Pixelate selected and drag a box over the area. It turns into square blocks at once. Add more boxes if you need them, then download the image.
Pixelate part of an image
Turn faces, plates and details into a mosaic of blocks.
Your files never leave this device.
Pixelate any part of a photo or screenshot by dragging a box over it. The area turns into large square blocks, and you control how coarse they are with a strength slider. When you download, the pixelation is flattened into the image and metadata is removed. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to use
- Drop or paste the image you want to edit.
- Keep the Pixelate tool selected and set the strength.
- Drag a box over each area you want to hide.
- Download the result as PNG or JPG.
Frequently asked questions
How do I pixelate a face in a photo?
Drag a box over the face with Pixelate selected and raise the strength until no features can be made out. You choose the area yourself, because the tool does not detect faces automatically.
How do I make the pixelation stronger?
Raise the strength slider before you draw the box. A higher strength gives bigger blocks and hides more detail. Very small blocks can leave a face recognizable.
Is pixelating safe for hiding text?
Not reliably. Big blocks over text can sometimes be guessed back, especially if the text is large. For passwords, card numbers and addresses, use a solid box on the blur page instead.
Can I undo pixelation after downloading?
No. The blocks are written into the saved image and the original pixels underneath are gone, so no one can restore them from the file. While you edit, the undo button removes the last box.
Can I pixelate the whole image?
Yes. Drag one box over the entire picture, or a few boxes that together cover it. Pixelation works on the areas you draw, so a box that covers everything pixelates all of it.
What is the difference between pixelate and blur?
Pixelate replaces an area with visible square blocks, while blur smears the detail into a soft haze. Pixelation looks more deliberate, and blur looks more natural; both hide faces and only a solid box fully hides text.
When is pixelation a good choice?
Pixelation suits cases where the goal is to stop someone being recognized rather than to stop a word being read. Faces in a crowd, a bystander in a street photo, a child in a picture from a school event, a shop sign or a license plate are the usual examples. The blocks are plainly visible, so viewers understand that something was hidden on purpose.
It is also a natural look for censoring a screenshot or a video frame where you still want people to understand the scene.
How strong should the pixelation be?
Block size depends on the strength you choose and on the size of the image, so the same setting looks bolder on a small picture than on a large one. Judge it by eye. A face is hidden when you cannot make out the eyes, nose and mouth, and the shape no longer looks like a person you know. If you can still recognize someone, raise the strength and draw the box again.
Draw the box a bit larger than the area itself. Hair, ears and clothing can identify a person as much as a face does, and a tight box may leave an edge visible.
What pixelation does not protect
Text is the weak spot. Large letters pixelated lightly can sometimes be guessed back, so do not rely on blocks to hide an account number or a password. For those, use the solid box on the blur and redact tool, which removes the characters completely.
A photo can also give away more than its pixels. The location and camera data hidden inside it stay in the file until it is cleaned; the downloaded redacted image is saved without them, but the original is not changed. If you want to see what an original file holds first, open it in the EXIF viewer.
What should I do after pixelating?
Check the result at the size others will see it. If the file is now larger than you need for email or a form, the image compressor will shrink it, and the crop page can cut away parts of the picture you would rather leave out altogether. Cropping something out is often cleaner than hiding it, when the framing allows.
How it compares
| This tool | Upload-based services | |
|---|---|---|
| Do files leave your device? | No | Yes |
| Account required | No | Often |
| Daily limit | None | Often |
| Watermark | None | Sometimes |
Limits and privacy
- Faces and text are not detected automatically; you choose the areas yourself.
- Pixelation is weaker than a solid box for text and numbers.
- The result is saved as PNG or JPEG without metadata; images above about 16 megapixels are reduced to that size.