This free online background remover uses an AI model that runs entirely in your browser to cut the background out of an image, leaving a transparent PNG. Your image is never uploaded anywhere.
Note: the first time you use this tool, your browser downloads the AI model and its runtime, which together come to tens of megabytes, so use Wi-Fi if your mobile data is limited. Processing then takes a few seconds per image and works best on photos with a clear subject, like portraits or product photos.
How to Use the Background Remover
Click "Select Image" and choose a photo with a clear subject.
Click "Remove Background" and wait a few seconds for processing to finish.
Download the result as a transparent PNG.
How the Background Is Removed
The tool uses the open-source IMG.LY background removal library, which runs an image segmentation model in your browser. The model looks at the whole picture and estimates, for every pixel, how likely it is to belong to the main subject rather than the background.
Those estimates form a mask. Pixels the model is confident about become fully opaque or fully transparent, and pixels along the edge, such as stray hair, get partial transparency so the cut-out blends smoothly onto a new background. The result is saved as a PNG because JPEG cannot store transparency.
The model and its WebAssembly runtime are downloaded from IMG.LY's content server the first time. Your photo itself is processed on your device and is not sent anywhere.
Where a Transparent Cut-out Helps
Product photos for an online shop or marketplace listing, where a plain background makes items look consistent.
Profile pictures, team pages and ID badges that need a uniform look.
Posters, invitations and social media graphics where a person or object is placed over a new design.
Presentations, where a cut-out image sits cleanly on a coloured slide instead of inside a white box.
Need a white background instead of a transparent one? Open the downloaded PNG in the Compress Image tool: it fills transparent areas with white and saves a JPEG, which is also a much smaller file. For passport, visa or exam photos, follow the official photo specifications, as some authorities do not accept edited images.
Getting Cleaner Edges
Contrast matters most. A dark shirt against a light wall separates far more cleanly than a white shirt against a white wall.
Keep the subject sharp and well lit. Motion blur and heavy shadows make the boundary uncertain, and the model may cut into the subject or leave a halo.
Frizzy hair, fur, lace, glass and see-through fabric are the hardest cases. Expect to see soft or patchy edges there.
The model decides on its own what the main subject is. In a group photo or a busy scene it may keep objects you wanted removed, so crop close to the subject before processing.
Check the result on both a dark and a light background before using it. Halos that are invisible on white often show up clearly on black.
Frequently Asked Questions
This tool downloads an AI segmentation model to your browser and runs it locally using WebAssembly, so your image never has to leave your device. Only the model files are fetched from the internet; your photo is not uploaded.
The AI model has to be downloaded the first time you use the tool. After that, your browser may cache it, making later runs faster.
Photos with a clear, well-lit subject against a distinct background - like portraits or product photos - give the cleanest results.
That is how many image viewers display transparency. The background is actually empty. Place the PNG on a slide, a document or a design and the new background will show through.
PNG uses lossless compression and stores a transparency value for every pixel, so a photo saved as PNG is usually several times larger than the same photo as a JPEG. If you do not need transparency, convert it to a JPEG with a white background using the Compress Image tool.