How the cut-out works
Many online background erasers send your picture to a remote server to do the work. This tool takes a different route. The first time you press Download, your browser fetches a compact segmentation network called U²-Net (the small "u2netp" variant, published under the Apache 2.0 licence) along with ONNX Runtime Web, an open-source engine that runs the network in WebAssembly. Those helper files are saved on your device, and from then on every step happens on your own phone or computer.
The network looks at a 320 × 320 copy of your photo and estimates, for every point, how likely it is to belong to the main subject. That rough map is then stretched back to the full resolution of your original, smoothed, and tightened so faint haze disappears while soft edges stay soft. Finally the map becomes the alpha channel of a PNG: subject pixels stay opaque, background pixels become transparent. Because the colour pixels come straight from your original, the subject keeps its full detail.
What it is good at, and where it struggles
Results are best when there is one obvious subject that stands apart from the backdrop: a headshot against a wall, a mug on a table, sneakers on sand, a dog on grass. Busy scenes with several people, objects that blend into the background, transparent glass, and wispy hair or fur are harder. Expect a slight halo or a few clipped strands in those cases, and zoom in before you publish. Sometimes the model also keeps a prop it considers part of the subject, such as a trophy or a toy standing right next to a person.
Typical uses are product shots for an online shop, profile pictures, stickers, slides, and quick mock-ups. If you need a solid backdrop rather than transparency, the Plain colour option fills the background with any colour you choose before saving.
How to do it
- Press the button above to open the Background remover. The first time, press Download to fetch the on-device model (about 16 MB, saved on your device for next time) and watch the progress bar.
- Drop a JPG, PNG, or WebP photo onto the drop zone, or press Choose image. One picture is processed at a time.
- Wait a few seconds while the model finds the subject. The original and the cut-out appear side by side on a checkerboard.
- Leave Background on None for a transparent PNG, or choose Plain colour and pick a fill.
- Inspect the edges, then press Download PNG. The file name ends in -no-bg.png.
