Remove Image Background Free — Transparent PNG | KhanTools
Cut the background out of a photo and get a PNG with a transparent background. Use it for product shots, profile pictures, stickers and slides, and the AI runs on your own device instead of on a server.
How to remove a background
- Click Upload an image and choose a photo. JPG, PNG and WebP all work.
- Your photo appears in the Original panel. Click Remove Background.
- Wait while the progress bar fills. The first time can take a while, because your browser has to download the AI model (more on that below).
- Check the Result panel. The grey and white checkerboard behind your subject is how transparency is shown. It won’t be in the file.
- Click Download PNG. The file is saved with
-no-bg added to its name. Click Reset to start on another photo.
What people use it for
A few everyday jobs where a clean cut-out saves time:
- Online shop listings. Photograph a mug or a pair of shoes on your kitchen table, remove the table, and place the item on a plain white or brand-coloured background in your design app.
- Profile pictures. Take a selfie anywhere, remove the room behind you, then use Circle Image Crop to make a round avatar.
- Presentations and flyers. A person or object without a box around it sits much more neatly on a coloured slide.
- Logos and signatures on paper. Photograph them and get a version you can lay over other images.
How it works, and what gets downloaded
The tool uses the open-source @imgly/background-removal library. It runs a segmentation model (ISNet) in your browser with WebAssembly. The model looks at the picture, decides which pixels belong to the main subject, and makes everything else transparent.
Be aware of one thing: the model files aren’t small. On first use your browser downloads them from IMG.LY's content server, and this can be tens of megabytes. On a slow or metered mobile connection, you may want to wait for Wi-Fi. Your browser usually caches the files, so later runs start much faster.
Your photo itself is never uploaded. Only the model files come down to you. The cut-out happens on your device, which is good news for photos of people, your home or unreleased products.
Getting a cleaner cut-out
- Choose photos where the subject stands out clearly from the background, for example a dark bag on a light wall.
- Keep the subject sharp and well lit. Blur and heavy shadows confuse the edges.
- One main subject works better than a crowd or a busy table.
- Crop away empty space first with Image Crop so the subject fills more of the frame.
What it can’t do
There are no manual brushes or touch-up tools. You get the result the model produces, and you can’t mark areas to keep or erase. Fine detail such as loose hair, fur, see-through fabric or glass may come out patchy or partly cut away. Very large photos take longer and use more memory, which can be a problem on older phones. The output is always a PNG, and PNG cut-outs can be big files. If you need something smaller, run the result through Image Compress and choose WebP, which keeps transparency.
Frequently asked questions
Is my image sent to a server?
No. The image is processed in your browser. The only download is the AI model the first time you use the tool.
Why is the first run so slow?
Your browser is downloading the model files and setting them up. After that they’re usually cached, so the next photos go faster.
What format is the result?
A PNG with a transparent background. PNG keeps the see-through areas, which JPEG can’t do.
Can I put a white background on it instead?
Not in this tool. One simple way: open the PNG in Image Compress and save it as JPEG. Transparent areas are filled with white.
Why are parts of the hair missing?
Thin strands and soft edges are hard for any automatic tool. A photo with a plain, contrasting background behind the hair usually helps.
Can I process several photos at once?
No, it handles one image at a time. Click Reset and upload the next one.
Does it work offline?
Don’t count on it. The tool needs a connection to fetch the model files. Whether it works offline later depends on what your browser has kept in its cache.
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