Sometimes you nail a shot and then notice some random passerby photobombing the whole thing. A good people-removal app can wipe those strangers out and rebuild the background so it looks natural. Below I've got six mobile apps plus one online tool, along with some practical notes on which one works best depending on the situation.
Best Apps to Remove People from Photos: Quick Comparison
| Tool | Platform | People-removal Features | Best For |
| Snapseed | iPhone/iPad, Android | Healing; manual brush; photo editing | Best for free, manual cleanup |
| Fotor | Web, iPhone; broader device support via web/mobile | AI people remover; brush/object removal; generative fill | Best for fast AI removal and simple retouching |
| YouCam Perfect | iPhone/iPad, Android | AI Object Removal; background removal; retouch | Best for mobile photo cleanup + beauty editing |
| Picsart | iPhone/iPad, Android | Object Remover; AI editing; background removal | Best for removal plus creative editing |
| Photoroom | iPhone/iPad, Android, Web | Retouch; erase objects; background tools | Best for product photos and batch-oriented workflows |
| Photoshop Express | iPhone/iPad, Android | Spot Heal; Brush/Smart Brush; Clone | Best for mobile cleanup with manual control |
| AVAide Watermark Remover | Web | Brush/lasso selection; AI removal | Best for removing people online without installation |
How to Choose the Right Tool
- Best for a completely free manual editor: Snapseed. Its Healing tool is suited to smaller distractions, while its broader editing tools can be used to polish the image afterward.
- Best for quick AI people removal: Fotor. Its dedicated people-removal workflow can detect and remove background people, while Object mode lets users manually mark a specific person.
- Best for portraits and beauty edits: YouCam Perfect. It combines AI object removal with portrait retouching and background tools.
- Best for creative editing after removal: Picsart. The object remover sits inside a broader photo and design workflow.
- Best for product photos: Photoroom. Its Retouch tool removes unwanted objects and is available across iOS, Android, and the Web App.
- Best for manual cleanup on mobile: Photoshop Express. Spot Heal supports Brush/Smart Brush on iOS and basic brush-based removal on Android.
- Best for an online-only workflow: AVAide Watermark Remover. It is a better match for this page than Background Eraser because the tool can remove a selected person from the image rather than only extract a subject from its background.
How We Test
We test each people-removal tool with the same photo: a person on a landscape background. We record how easy the removal is to set up, how long the edit takes, how naturally the missing area is reconstructed, and whether the result contains obvious repeated patterns, smears, or broken edges.
Test Environment
- iPhone: an iPhone 16 running iOS 27.
- Android: a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with Android 17.
- Web tools: Chrome and Edge on Windows 10, with a stable broadband connection.
Part 1. Snapseed
Snapseed’s a free photo editor from Google that has a solid Healing tool for cleaning up unwanted spots. It works especially well for small distractions. If you just want a simple manual cleanup option instead of some dedicated AI people-remover app, it’s a pretty good fit.
Processing Time: 7 seconds
Best For: Free manual cleanup and users who want full photo editing in the same app.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Key Features:
- Healing: Paint over unwanted people or objects and blend the area with nearby image content.
- Selective editing: Adjust brightness, contrast, or saturation in selected areas after removal.
- Batch editing: Apply edits to multiple photos when a broader editing workflow is needed.
- Pros
- Free with no subscription, in-app purchase, ads, or watermark according to its current App Store listing.
- Useful for small background distractions.
- Cons
- Manual healing can be slower for large people or complex backgrounds.
- Not a dedicated one-tap AI people remover.
Part 2. Fotor
Fotor is a broader photo editor with dedicated AI tools for removing people and unwanted objects. It has a user-friendly interface, a variety of templates, an HDR photography feature, and many other useful functions. Among its toolkit, the AI background person remover helps users remove people from the image background in just seconds.
Processing Time: 9 seconds
Best For: Fast AI removal, especially for passersby and simple background cleanup.
Platform: Web, iPhone, Android
Key Features:
- Passerby mode: Automatically detects and removes background people.
- Objects mode: Brush over a specific person or object when automatic detection is not enough.
- Generative fill: Can generate replacement content after a selected person or object is removed.
- Pros
- Dedicated people-removal workflow.
- Supports both automatic and manually selected removal.
- Cons
- Broader editing features can make the interface busier than a single-purpose remover.
- Some advanced functions use in-app purchases or credits.
3. YouCam Perfect
YouCam Perfect is a popular photo retouching app for editing photos and enhancing selfies. Users can apply the AI object removal tool to erase unwanted objects, people, or animals instantly. It also offers a range of real-time beautification tools that allow users to edit body shapes naturally and retouch their faces to achieve a flawless look.
Processing Time: 16 seconds
Best For: Mobile photo cleanup for users who also want beauty, portrait, and background-editing tools.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Key Features:
- AI Object Removal: Erase unwanted objects or people from photos.
- AI Background Remover: Cut out subjects and replace or customize the background.
- Photo retouching: Refine portraits and apply filters after removing unwanted people or objects.
- Pros
- Strong set of related portrait-editing features.
- Supports both iOS/iPadOS and Android.
- Cons
- Contains ads and in-app purchases.
- The feature-rich interface may be overkill for a single removal job.
4. Picsart
Picsart is a broad photo, video, and design editor. PicsArt offers an AI-powered object remover to replace that part with a custom-generated image. You just need to click the remove button and then brush over anything that you'd like to remove, and then AI will magically remove it from your photo. However, to access the full features, you need to subscribe to PicsArt.
Processing Time: 10 seconds
Best For: Users who want people removal plus creative editing, collage, effects, or background changes.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Key Features:
- Object Remover/Object Eraser: Remove unwanted people, objects, and clutter.
- Background Remover: Cut out subjects for further compositing.
- AI editing tools: Continue editing with effects, retouching, replacement, and other creative tools.
- Pros
- Very broad editing toolkit.
- Available on both iOS/iPadOS and Android.
- Cons
- The larger interface can feel heavier than a single-purpose remover.
- The App Store listing includes in-app purchases.
5. Photoroom
Photoroom’s mostly known for product shots and background removal, but the Retouch tool is actually pretty solid for wiping out random people or objects too. It works on iOS, Android, and the web, so you can clean stuff up wherever you’re working.
Processing Time: 11 seconds
Best For: Product photos, e-commerce images, and users who need removal plus background and batch-editing workflows.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android, Web App
Key Features:
- Retouch: Paint over an unwanted person or object and let AI redraw the selected area.
- Background tools: Remove or replace image backgrounds as part of a broader product-image workflow.
- Batch editing: Useful when editing multiple product visuals in one workflow.
- Pros
- Cross-platform coverage including Web, iOS, and Android.
- Retouch is documented as a free utility that does not require AI credits.
- Cons
- The workflow is broader and more commerce-focused than some users need.
- Some advanced product-image features are paid.
6. Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express is a mobile photo editor developed by Adobe, and one of its handy tools is Spot Heal for removing unwanted objects. It's a good option when you want more manual adjustments over the selected area, rather than just relying on automatic people detection.
Processing Time: 19 seconds
Best For: Manual mobile retouching when you want to control brush size and refine the selected area.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Key Features:
- Spot Heal: Use Brush or Smart Brush on iOS to remove unwanted content; Android provides Spot Heal with adjustable brush size.
- Clone: Copy surrounding image content into an area when automatic healing is not enough.
- Refine controls: Adjust brush size and, on supported workflows, opacity and feather for more controlled edits.
- Pros
- Available on both iOS and Android.
- Provides both removal and cloning workflows.
- Cons
- The mobile workflow is more manual than dedicated one-click AI people removers.
- Some advanced editing features may be tied to premium access.
Bonus Online Workaround: AVAide Watermark Remover
Sometimes you may not want to download an app to remove people from the background. In that case, a free online eraser tool perhaps would be your best choice. AVAide Watermark Remover is a powerful online tool for removing anything from an image: watermarks, people, text, objects, logos, etc. What's better, it can use AI algorithms to enhance the image quality. The removal process is totally automatic, which is pretty convenient.
Processing Time: 12 seconds
Best For: Removing one or more people online without installing a mobile or desktop app.
Platform: Web
Key Features:
- Selective removal: Use Brush or Lasso selection to mark the person you want to remove.
- AI inpainting: Rebuild the selected area using surrounding image information.
- Optional AI enhancement: You can choose to enable Image Enhancement to reduce quality loss.
- Pros
- Online workflow with no app installation.
- Removes anything automatically with AI.
- Supports multiple selection methods.
- Can enhance the image quality in the same workflow.
- Cons
- As an online tool, the results and speed rely on the Internet connection.
FAQs About Removing People from Photos
Can I remove text from an image?
Yes, you can remove text from your image without harming the image quality. For example, Fotor, PicsArt, and AVAide Watermark Remover can help you remove unwanted text with one click.
If I need to remove people from the background, what image format should I use?
Any image formats. AVAide Background Eraser works on any image format, such as PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, etc. You have nothing to worry about.
Can I add a person to a photo?
Certainly, adding a person to a photo can be accomplished by using various photo editing tools. You can add a person to a photo with the help of photo editing tools like Fotor and Adobe Photoshop, and both of which offer their unique features and advantages.
We introduce the four best apps to remove people from background in this article. Besides, we also recommend AVAide Background Eraser, the best and the most convenient online tool to remove things from photos, to satisfy your needs. All the tools have their pros and cons, you can pick the most appropriate one according to your needs. If you have used one or some of them before, you are welcome to leave your review in the comment.
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Uses AI and automated background removal technology to capture complex backgrounds from JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
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