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JPG, PNG or WebP — pixelated on your device, never uploadedAbout pixelating an image
Pixelating turns a picture into big square blocks. Each block gets one colour: the average of the pixels it covers. Small details — a face, the letters on a number plate, a name — are gone.
People pixelate for two reasons:
- To hide something. A child's face in a school photo, a number plate in a car picture, an address on a parcel, a name in a screenshot.
- For the look. A whole photo in big blocks looks like an old video game — fun as a profile picture, a poster or a guessing game.
This tool does both. Pixelate the whole picture, or choose only the parts you drag over. You set the block size in pixels, so you know exactly what you get.
Everything happens in your browser. Your photo is never uploaded.
Features
- Whole picture or only parts — switch with one click
- Block size in pixels — from 2 px (a light grain) to 200 px (huge blocks)
- Rectangle, oval or brush — cover a face with an oval, a plate with a rectangle, anything with the brush
- Many areas — drag again to hide more; undo the last one
- Exact blocks — each block is one average colour, counted from the corner of the area
- Baked in — the blocks are part of the saved picture, not a layer on top
- PNG or JPG — the download is ready the moment you finish
- Private — nothing is uploaded
How big should the blocks be?
The block size is in pixels of your photo. When you open a photo, the tool starts at about 48 blocks across and shows the count under the slider.
For a photo 1200 px wide:
| Block size | Blocks across | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 8 px | 150 | A light grain — shapes are still easy to see |
| 24 px | 50 | A clear pixel look — faces are hard to know |
| 60 px | 20 | Big blocks — only colours and rough shapes are left |
| 120 px | 10 | A few big squares |
The count is the width divided by the block size, rounded up: 1200 ÷ 24 = 50.
To hide a face or a plate, the blocks must be big compared with the thing you hide. A face that is only 4–6 blocks wide cannot be recognised. With small blocks, software can sometimes guess what was there — for text, numbers and faces, choose big blocks.
Pixelate or blur?
Pixelating keeps one colour per block. The detail inside the block is really gone, so it is the safer choice for faces, plates and text. A soft blur looks smoother, but a light blur can sometimes be partly undone. If you want a blur, use Blur or Pixelate Part of a Photo.
What people use it for
- Faces of children or strangers in photos for social media or a school newsletter
- Number plates in car sale photos or dash-cam pictures
- Names, phone numbers and addresses in screenshots and parcel photos
- ID cards and documents before you send a copy
- A pixel-art look for a profile picture, a poster or a game
- "Guess the picture" quizzes: start with huge blocks, then make them smaller
Frequently asked questions
How do I pixelate only a face?
Choose Only the parts I drag over and Oval. Drag over the face. Make the blocks big enough that the face is only a few blocks wide, then download the picture.
How do I pixelate the whole image?
Open the photo — the whole picture is pixelated at once. Move Block size until you like the look, then click Download the picture.
Can someone undo the pixelation?
The blocks are part of the saved picture, so there is no hidden original in the file. With very small blocks, a person or software may still guess large text or a well-known face. Use big blocks for anything private.
Does the picture lose quality?
Only inside the pixelated areas. Everything else stays exactly as it was. Choose PNG to keep the rest of the picture without new compression.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The photo is pixelated in your browser and never leaves your device.
Related tools
- Blur or Pixelate Part of a Photo — the same idea, with a blur option
- Blur Background — blur or pixelate everything except the person
- Blur Video — hide a face or a plate in a video
- Redact PDF — black out text in a PDF for good
- Crop Image — cut away a part instead
How to use it
- Click Click to upload or drop your photo on the box
- For the whole picture: move Block size until you like it
- To hide only a part: choose Only the parts I drag over, pick a Rectangle, Oval or Brush, and drag over the face, plate or text
- Drag again to hide more areas, or click Undo last area
- Choose PNG or JPG
- Click Download the picture
