How to Blur Faces and Number Plates in a Photo

What to look for before you post

How to blur part of a photo

1. Open Blur Image and choose your photo.
2. Leave Apply to set to Areas I select.
3. Drag a rectangle over each face, plate or label. Add as many areas as you need; Undo last area removes the most recent one.
4. Increase Strength until the detail is truly unrecognisable — not just softened.
5. Download the result.

Prefer the blocky look? Pixelate Image works the same way, and you can switch between Blur and Pixelate in either tool. There’s also a Whole image option for a blurred background or teaser image.

The areas are rectangles you draw yourself — nothing is detected automatically — so you stay in control of exactly what’s hidden. Draw each box a little larger than the thing you’re covering; a tight box can leave the edges of a face or the first letter of a plate visible.

Blur or pixelate?

Both work when they’re strong enough. Blur looks softer and more natural, which suits faces in the background of a family photo. Pixelation is more obviously deliberate, which suits text and number plates — nobody wonders whether it’s just out of focus.

Make sure it can’t be reversed

A light blur or small-block pixelation can sometimes be partly reversed or guessed, especially for text. Researchers have shown that lightly pixelated text can be reconstructed by comparing it with pixelated versions of known characters, and a number plate has a limited set of possible characters, making guessing easier. So:

• Use a high strength, so each blurred or pixelated block covers several characters, not part of one.
• Cover the whole item, not just the middle of it.
• Check the result zoomed in. If you can still make out the shape of a letter or number, go stronger.
• For truly sensitive information — ID numbers, bank details, passwords — cropping it out entirely is safest. The Image Cropper does this.

Don’t forget the hidden data

Photos from phones often carry EXIF metadata: the date and time, the phone model and, if location was on, the exact GPS coordinates where the photo was taken. Blurring your house number achieves little if the file itself records where your house is.

The image you download from the blur tool is a freshly saved copy, so it doesn’t carry the original photo’s camera or location data. For photos you’re posting without blurring, remove it with the EXIF Remover, and use the Image Metadata Viewer to check what any photo contains. Many social networks strip location data from uploads, but messaging apps, email and file-sharing services often send the original file untouched.

Keep the original — privately

Blurring creates a new image; your original is unchanged. Keep the original somewhere private if you want it, and make sure it’s the blurred copy you actually post. It’s a surprisingly common mistake to blur a photo carefully and then attach the original from the camera roll.

Children and consent

Rules about photographing and posting people differ between countries, and so do the rules of schools, clubs and workplaces — many ask parents not to post photos of other children from events, or to blur them. When in doubt, blur everyone except your own family, or ask the other parents first. It costs you nothing and it’s a courtesy people appreciate.

Number plates

In many countries number plates aren’t secret — they’re on display every time you drive. But a photo online links a specific car to a specific place and time, and a photo of your car outside your home links it to your address. Blurring plates is common practice when you post photos of your car, your street or a car you’re selling. If you’re selling a car, most buyers expect the plate hidden in the listing photos and will ask for details when they’re serious.

Screenshots of messages and emails

Screenshots are the other everyday case. Sharing a funny group chat or a customer’s complaint to ask for advice often exposes other people’s names, phone numbers and profile pictures. Pixelate the names and photos of everyone except yourself, and check the top of the screen for the contact name and the bottom for any preview of the next message. For emails, look for addresses in the To and Cc lines and for signatures with phone numbers. Screenshots are PNG files with sharp text, which is exactly why weak pixelation on them can sometimes be read — use a high strength.

On a phone

Blur Image works in mobile browsers: open the photo from your camera roll, then drag a finger over each area to cover it. Zoom the page if you need precision on a small face or plate. The download is a new file — usually in your Downloads or Files app rather than the camera roll — and your original stays where it was. Share the blurred copy, and remember the unblurred original may still be synced to a shared album or cloud backup.

Worked example: a school sports day

Grace wants to post a photo of her son crossing the finish line. Behind him are four other children, a teacher and a parent holding a phone showing a group chat.

1. She opens the photo in Blur Image and draws a box over each of the four children’s faces and the teacher’s face.
2. She draws one box over the parent’s phone screen.
3. She raises the strength until the faces are unrecognisable when she zooms in.
4. She notices the school’s name on the banner behind them and adds a box over it too.
5. She downloads the blurred copy and posts that — not the original.

Her son’s moment is still the photo’s focus, and nobody else’s child is online without their parents’ say.

Quick checklist

• Faces of other people, especially children?
• Number plates, house numbers, street signs?
• Screens, documents, labels and badges?
• Reflections?
• Blur strong enough when zoomed in?
• Location data removed?
• Posting the edited copy, not the original?

Privacy

Blur Image and Pixelate Image run in your browser, so the photo you’re protecting isn’t uploaded to a server in the process.