About Background Remover
This background remover is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser, so your photos are never uploaded. Drop a picture, tap to choose one, paste it, or take a photo with your phone camera, and the subject is cut out in a few seconds. You can save it as a transparent PNG, or place it on a white or coloured background, a blurred copy of the original, or a picture of your own.
It uses MODNet by default, a small portrait matting model of about 7 MB that is quick even on a phone. For harder pictures there is a high quality mode that uses BiRefNet lite, about 115 MB, which keeps hair, fur and thin edges cleaner and works best in a browser with WebGPU. The size is shown first and the large model never downloads until you confirm. The model files are fetched from Hugging Face, because they are too large to ship inside the page. Your photos never leave your device.
The result is full resolution. The model looks at a copy of the photo no larger than 1024 px on its long side, then the mask it makes is stretched back to the exact size of your original and applied to the original pixels. A 24 megapixel photo therefore comes back as a 24 megapixel PNG, not a thumbnail. Photos above 6000 px on the long side are scaled down to 6000 px first, to stay inside phone memory.
You can do up to ten images at once and download them as one ZIP. An edge softness slider feathers the cut line, and on a phone a slider lets you drag between the before and after views.
How to use Background Remover
- Pick a quality: Fast (MODNet, about 7 MB) or High quality (BiRefNet lite, about 115 MB, WebGPU recommended).
- The small model loads by itself when the page opens (not on Data Saver); confirm the download of the large one. The source and size are shown on the model card.
- Add photos by dropping them, tapping the box, pasting with Ctrl or Cmd + V, or using the phone camera. Up to ten per batch.
- Choose a background: Transparent, Colour (swatches or any colour), Blur, or Picture.
- Drag the edge softness slider if the cut line looks harsh or has a halo. The preview updates as you move it.
- Compare before and after, then press PNG to save the open image, or ZIP to save every finished image together.
Features
- Transparent PNG at the full size of your original photo (up to 6000 px on the long side).
- MODNet for speed, BiRefNet lite for hair and fine edges.
- Background swap: transparent, any solid colour, a blurred copy of the photo or your own picture.
- Edge softness slider that feathers the cut line.
- Batch of up to ten images with a single ZIP download and unique file names.
- Input by drag and drop, file choice, paste or phone camera.
- Before and after as a drag slider on phones and side by side on large screens.
- Runs on your device: the model is the only thing downloaded.
How the full-size mask is made
The model returns a mask the size of its own input, where each value says how much of the pixel belongs to the subject. The tool stretches it to the size of your photo with bilinear sampling, so the edge is smooth instead of blocky, then writes it into the alpha channel of the original.
mask (at most 1024 px) -> bilinear stretch -> mask (original size)
alpha(x, y) = mask(x, y)
pixel(x, y) = original(x, y) with that alphaWorked examples
A 6000 by 4000 px photo gives The model sees 1024 by 683 px
The mask is stretched back by a factor of about 5.86, so the PNG is still 6000 by 4000 px.
Stretching a 2 by 2 mask (0, 255 / 0, 255) to 4 by 4 gives First row: 0, 64, 191, 255
Values between the two columns blend smoothly, which is what keeps the edge from looking jagged.
Three files in one batch: photo.jpg, photo.png and Beach Day.JPG gives photo-no-bg.png, photo-no-bg-2.png, Beach-Day-no-bg.png
Two inputs with the same name never overwrite each other in the ZIP.
Good to know
What a browser background remover can and cannot do
Both models were trained to find the main subject. They do very well on people, pets and products against a plain or moderately busy background. They can struggle with glass, smoke, shadows you want to keep, several overlapping subjects and subjects that blend into the background. When the edge is wrong, try the high quality mode, or raise the edge softness a little.
A cut-out is a mask applied to your photo. The tool does not repaint missing parts or fix the colour spill of a green background on hair.
Licences of the models
MODNet is released under Apache-2.0 and BiRefNet under MIT, so the results are fine to use commercially. The tool does not use the RMBG family of models, because their licence does not allow commercial use.
Privacy: how it works
- Photos are processed in your browser and are never uploaded to Ulkaa or to anyone else.
- The only download is the model: MODNet (about 7 MB) or BiRefNet lite (about 115 MB) from Hugging Face. That request does not contain your photos. Your browser may cache the model for next time.
Tips
- For a product photo, use a plain background when you shoot and choose a solid colour here. Light grey or white both suit shops.
- Use the blur background for portraits: it keeps the photo natural and hides a messy room.
- If the cut line shows a light halo on a dark background, raise the edge softness by one or two steps.
- On a slow phone, stay on Fast. High quality on the CPU can take a minute for each image.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no price, no trial and no credit card. Ulkaa Tool does the work with your own device, so there is no server bill to pass on to you.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and no login. Open the page and use it. An Ulkaa account is not needed for anything on this tool.
Does it run in my browser?
Yes. Your photos are processed by code running in your browser tab, on your own device.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your photos are never sent to Ulkaa or to anyone else. You can check this yourself by watching the Network tab in your browser developer tools while you use the tool.
Is the PNG full resolution?
Yes, up to 6000 px on the long side. The model works on a smaller copy, and its mask is stretched back to the exact size of your original before it is applied.
How is it different from remove.bg?
The cut-out is made on your device instead of on a server, so there is no upload, no account and no per-image credit. A hosted service may still handle some difficult pictures better.
Which model should I choose?
Start with Fast (MODNet, about 7 MB). Switch to High quality (BiRefNet lite, about 115 MB) when hair, fur or thin parts come out rough. High quality is much quicker with WebGPU.
Why does it ask me to confirm a download?
The high quality model is about 115 MB. The tool shows its size and waits for you, so it never uses your data without asking.
Can I remove backgrounds from many photos at once?
Yes. Add up to ten images and use the ZIP button. Each file is saved with a clear name such as photo-no-bg.png.
Does it keep transparency in JPG files?
No. JPG has no transparency. The result is always a PNG, which does.
Why are my very large photos scaled down?
Above 6000 px on the long side a photo can use more memory than a phone has. The tool scales it to 6000 px first and tells you so.
Popular Background Remover pages
- Remove Background From a PhotoDrop a photo and get the subject back as a transparent PNG at the size of the original.
- Make a Transparent BackgroundGet a PNG with a transparent background and a crisp cut line.
- White Background MakerPut the subject of your photo on a plain white background.
- Blur Photo BackgroundKeep the subject sharp and soften everything behind it.
- Product Photo Background RemoverClean product shots for your shop, from a phone photo.