How to remove the background from an image

Get a clean transparent PNG for a product listing, a logo or a slide — without uploading your photo to anyone.

Background removal is the one image job that almost always ends with an upload. Most free tools require you to hand over the photo, and many then watermark the result or hold the full-resolution version back for a paid plan. Toolsfully does the work in your browser instead, so the picture never leaves your machine and the result comes back clean.

Two ways to do it, and when each one wins

The tool offers two methods because neither is best for every photo.

AI cutout uses a segmentation model that understands what a subject is. It traces around hair, plant leaves, chair legs and other awkward edges, and it copes with cluttered rooms where the background is a jumble of colours. It is BiRefNet Lite, an open model that runs on your device: the first time, your browser downloads about 200 MB of model and 11 MB of engine from this site and keeps them, so later runs start in seconds. A photo takes about 20 seconds on a recent computer, longer on a phone.

Plain backdrop needs no download and finishes instantly. It works inward from the edges of the picture, clearing everything that matches the border colour. For a product shot on a white sweep, a passport-style photo against a wall, or green-screen footage, it is both faster and cleaner than the AI. Its weakness is obvious once you know it: anything in the subject that shares the background colour goes too, so a white mug on white paper is a poor candidate.

Step-by-step

1. Open the tool. Go to Image Tools and pick the "Remove Background" tab.
2. Add a photo. Drag it in, choose it, or paste it with Ctrl or ⌘ + V. The tool works on one photo at a time, so you can check and touch up each one.
3. Choose a method. Start with AI cutout unless your background is genuinely plain.
4. Remove the background, then check it. Drag the Compare slider across the picture to see the original and the cutout side by side, edge for edge.
5. Touch up. Paint with Erase to take away bits the AI kept, or Restore to bring back bits it missed. Undo, redo and reset are there if a stroke goes wrong.
6. Pick what the background becomes, and save. Transparent PNG is the default; you can also put the subject on white, black, a soft colour, a blurred copy of the original, or any colour you choose, and save as PNG or JPG or copy it straight to the clipboard. The result is always the full size of your photo.

Getting a better edge

• Shoot with separation in mind. A subject that contrasts with what's behind it cuts out well by any method. A dark jacket against a dark sofa is hard for software and for people.
• Use the closeness slider deliberately. In plain-backdrop mode, raise the closeness when lighting across the backdrop is uneven; lower it when the subject contains colours close to the background.
• Add a little edge softness. One or two pixels of Soften edges stops the cut-out looking pasted on when you place it over a new background.
• Keep PNG for transparency. JPEG cannot store transparency at all — save as PNG unless you are flattening onto a solid colour anyway.

Frequently asked questions

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. Both methods run inside your browser. The AI model is downloaded from this site to your device and the work happens locally, which is why the first run needs a moment and later ones don't.

Will there be a watermark, or a resolution limit?

Neither. You get the full resolution you put in, unmarked.

Why does the AI sometimes clip fine detail?

Segmentation models predict a boundary; wispy hair and semi-transparent edges are genuinely ambiguous. That is what the Erase and Restore brushes are for: a few strokes along a difficult edge usually finish the job. For a critical cut-out, a magazine cover say, software of any kind is a starting point rather than a finish.