Pixelate image online
Turn faces, names or number plates into chunky blocks. Pixelate one area or the whole picture, set the block size per box, and download. Your photo stays on your device.
- No upload. Pixels are processed in this tab; open DevTools → Network to check.
- No account, no watermark.
- Metadata stripped on every download.
What pixelation does to your pixels
Pixelating splits the area into square blocks and paints each block with the average colour of the pixels inside it. A 4×4 block turns 16 values into one; an 8×8 block turns 64 into one.
That is a lot of lost detail, which is why a pixelated face is unrecognisable. But the averages are not random. Two different letters in the same font give two slightly different sets of greys, and an attacker who can guess the font can compare candidates until one matches.
Move the slider and tap a block to see which pixels were blended into it.
Pixelate vs blur: which to use
| Pixelate | Blur | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Obvious "censored" squares | Soft, less distracting |
| Faces in photos | Good at large block sizes | Good at high strength |
| Short text, numbers | Can be guessed back | Can be guessed back |
| Best for | Making it clear something was hidden on purpose | Keeping a screenshot pleasant to read |
For anything that must never be read, switch to solid-box redaction.
Tips for a clean pixelated result
- Make the box a little bigger than the thing you are hiding. Edges of letters that fall just outside a block stay sharp.
- Use bigger blocks on small details. A 10-pixel-tall line of text needs blocks at least as tall as the text.
- For faces in group photos, the face editor can find every face for you, including the small ones at the back.
Questions people ask
How do I pixelate only part of an image?
Open the image, keep Pixelate selected and drag a box over the area. Each box keeps its own block size, so you can pixelate a face heavily and a background sign lightly in the same picture.
How do I pixelate the whole image?
Press "Whole image" after opening it. That adds one box covering every pixel, and the strength slider then sets the block size for the entire picture.
What block size is enough?
For faces, blocks about a fifth of the face width make it unrecognisable to people. For text, pixelation is never guaranteed: short strings in a known font can be guessed back. Use a solid box for numbers and passwords.
Is pixelation the same as a mosaic effect?
Yes. "Mosaic" is the name many photo apps use for the same block-averaging filter.
Will the pixelated file still contain the original?
No. The export is a new image drawn from the edited pixels, with no layers, undo history or metadata. Anyone receiving it gets only what you see.