How to blur photos on your iPhone for more security online

How to blur a background on iPhone

The iPhone allows you to blur the background of your photos with an integrated depth control feature. It’s beneficial in cases when the background in the photo you’ve taken reveals a little too much or if you would rather focus the attention in the picture on a particular object. However, this feature is only available in the portrait mode.

Below are the steps you should take if you want to blur the background of your photos:

1. Open the photo with the background you’d like to alter and click the “Edit” option at the top-right corner of the screen.
2. At the top-left corner of the screen, you’ll see two icons – a hexagon and an 𝑓 sing.
3. When you click on the hexagon shape, a toolbar for portrait lighting effects will appear at the bottom of the screen. These allow you to change the lighting and focus of the photo.
4. When you choose the 𝑓 sing option, you can customize the intensity of the background’s blur by moving the toggle at the bottom of the screen.
5. Manage both options to get the result you want.

In case you want to hide the entire background of the photo completely, you should choose the “Stage light” option and toggle the density of the blur to its fullest.

How to blur part of a picture on your iPhone

The easiest way to blur a section in a picture taken with your iPhone is by using the Markup tool. It’s extremely useful whenever you want to disguise unwanted imagery or sensitive information from photos or screenshots.

To blur part of a picture with the Markup tool, follow these steps:

1. Open a photo or a screenshot and tap the “Edit” button at the top-right corner of the screen.
2. At the top-right of your screen, you’ll see an icon resembling a pencil tip – it’s the Markup tool you should tap on.
3. Once you’re in the Markup window, tap the “+” button on the screen’s bottom-left corner.
4. Tap the “Add shape” option and choose the shape that best fits the area you want to blur.
5. Place the chosen shape over the part of the picture you want to blur and move the blue toggles to stretch or shrink the shape to match the area you want to disguise.
6. You’ll see a line of circles on the bottom of the screen. Starting from the left, the first circle will allow you to choose the brightness of the blurred shape’s border; the second will prompt you to manage the thickness of that border; the third one will offer you to pick the color that fills the blurred shape; and the fourth one will give you a chance to choose the intensity of the blur.
7. After you customize the shape of the blur according to your needs, click “Done” at the top-right corner of the screen.

Why would you want to blur photos on an iPhone

Blurring particular components in your photos can be useful for aesthetic purposes and even necessary for security reasons. For instance, sharing pictures or screenshots that include sensitive content – anything from ID numbers and login details to license plates and children’s faces – may jeopardize your own or other people’s privacy. However, you can avoid sharing extensive information by blurring out unnecessary objects. When you use a localized blur to disguise unnecessary details, you can also make the content you intend to share clearer and more understandable to the receiver. Whenever you want to use your photos for particular platforms and publications, you must also be aware of copyright laws and ensure no copyright-protected materials are clearly seen in your pictures.

The blur effect may come in handy when you want to draw more attention to the main object in the photo. To accomplish this, you can use a background blur of different intensities to disguise all unwanted objects within the background.

With AI tools and applications on the rise, you should be more careful than ever about what pictures reveal about you and others. Various face and location recognition tools can help hackers gather valuable information about you and use it for elaborate cyberattacks.