What this tool does
The background remover isolates the main subject of a photo — usually a person, product or pet — and produces a transparent PNG where the rest of the image is fully transparent. That transparent PNG can be dropped into a design, printed on a coloured background, or pasted into a document without a white box around the subject.
The removal is performed by an open-source AI segmentation model (IMG.LY's background-removal, based on ISNet) that runs in your browser via WebAssembly and WebGPU where available. Because the model runs locally, your photo never leaves your device.
How to remove a background
- Click the upload area and pick a JPG, PNG or WEBP file up to 20 MB.
- Press Remove background. On the first run, your browser will download the AI model — this can take 10–30 seconds depending on your internet speed.
- When the cutout appears, use the swatches on the right to preview the PNG on different colours.
- Click Download PNG to save the transparent file.
Tips for the cleanest cutout
Use a photo with a clear subject and good lighting. Backgrounds with strong contrast against the subject (a person in a bright shirt against a dark wall, a product on a plain table) produce the cleanest result. Very busy backgrounds, transparent hair against a crowded scene, or subjects that blend into the background may leave soft edges that need manual clean-up in an image editor.
If your photo has more than one subject or a crowded scene, crop it first so the model focuses on a single object. You can use our Image Cropper to remove distracting areas before running the removal.
What happens to my photo?
Nothing is uploaded to a server. The file is read locally by your browser and the output PNG is generated on your device. The AI model files themselves are downloaded from a public CDN, but your image never leaves your device.
Common questions
Is the tool free? Yes — no account, no limits, no watermark on the output.
What file types are supported? JPG, PNG and WEBP up to 20 MB each. HEIC files are not supported because most browsers cannot decode them natively.
Why is the first run slow? The model is around 40 MB and only needs to download once. After that it is cached by your browser.
Can I change the background colour? Yes — download the transparent PNG, then open it in our Background Colour Changer to fill the transparent area with a solid colour.