I recently took some group photos with my iPhone, and now I want to share them online but prefer to blur some faces for privacy. I’m not sure what tools or apps I need or if the iPhone has a built-in feature to do this. Can anyone guide me on how to blur faces in pictures directly from my phone?
If you’re trying to blur some faces on your iPhone, no, unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a magical “blur face” button built into the Photos app. Why would Apple make it that easy for us? You’ll need to use another app to get it done. I’d recommend something like Snapseed (free and reliable) or TouchRetouch (not free, but worth it). Both let you blur or pixelate areas. Here’s how you could do it in Snapseed:
- Download Snapseed from the App Store. It’s free, don’t worry—this isn’t one of those “sign your wallet over” apps.
- Open your photo in Snapseed.
- Go into the ‘Tools’ section and hunt for the “Lens Blur” tool. It wasn’t built specifically for blurring faces, but it works.
- Adjust the blur radius and position, then apply it over the faces you want.
And voila, those faces are history. Alternatively, you could try using Photoshop Express, which also offers blurring tools, but now you’re diving into more advanced territory. Or, if we’re being real, slap an emoji over the face, call it ‘artistic expression,’ and be done with it. Who’s judging?
No, the built-in Edit app won’t help much unless you just crop the faces out (and that feels aggressive for a group photo). Get one of these apps and you’re good to go.
Soooo yeah, no built-in face-blurring option on the iPhone—classic Apple keeping it just inconvenient enough to push us toward third-party apps. While @jeff mentioned Snapseed (solid choice) and TouchRetouch (pricey but decent), there’s actually another sneaky way if you’re not feeling app downloads: screenshots and markup.
Honestly, it’s not perfect, but if you’re desperate:
- Pull up the photo on your iPhone, screenshot it.
- Go into the screenshot editor (tap the preview after taking it).
- Use the Markup tool (the pen thing) and pick the highlighter.
- Set the highlighter to a big fat line, pick a black or white color, and draw messy scribbles over the faces.
Yeah, this is full DIY vibes, and no, it’s not the sleek pixelation or blur you’d get from an app. But it works if you’re lazy or just need quick privacy. That said, if you care about aesthetics (or hiding faces without them looking like crime wanted posters), apps like Blur Photo Effect Background are super intuitive for blurring faces specifically—way less fiddly than Snapseed.
Oh, and as for Photoshop Express… not sure why it keeps coming up, but unless you’re on a mission to confuse yourself with extra steps, skip it. Feels overkill for a basic task like this. Just use tools that respect your time, please.
Or better yet—just send a private group message to share your photos instead of hitting social media! Who even has time to blur faces when you can avoid the drama entirely? Just saying.