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Whether you need to remove an image’s background for a creative project, a fun sticker, or just to isolate a subject, there are some great mobile apps that allow you to quickly remove the background from your images.
1iPhone Sticker Maker (Free, iOS Only)
If you’re an iPhone user, you may already know this trick. TheiPhone sticker maker lets you isolate the subject of a photowith just one long hold. This a free and native tool for any iPhone with iOS 17 and higher.
To isolate your subject from its background, go to your Photos library and find an image with an obvious subject. Photos that have too much going on in the foreground or surrounding your subject might not work successfully.Hold downthe subject of the image until a white glow appears around its edge. Then you can select toCopyorSharethe isolated subject.
You can paste your subject as a sticker into your Notes apps, turn it into an emoji in your messaging or social apps, or even paste it into a creative project using any photo editing app, such as Canva. You can also save it as a new photo with a transparent background.
2Canva (Pro & Free)
Although Canva is a free photo editing app, the background removal tool is one of its premium features and only available to Canva Pro users or anyone with a free trial. There areCanva Apps availablethat also offer background removal, such as the Background Eraser, Clear Background, and Replace Background apps, which are free for all Canva users.
Canva’s background removerworks the same on mobile as it does on desktop. Once you’ve uploaded your image and opened it on the canvas, select it then selectEffectsin the bottom menu. Pro users will seeBackground Removeras one of the options—free users won’t see the option—selecting it will pull up the refinement page to tighten the selection and remove the background.
The Background Eraser app in Canva Apps is a great option if you don’t pay for Canva. Select theAppsicon and openBackground Eraser. Upload your image and selectRemove Background. Once it’s loaded, you can add your isolated subject image to a Canva canvas project.
Download: Canva foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
3Hypic (Free)
The Hypic photo editing app is from the same people who created CapCut and TikTok—Bytedance—and it offers in-app integration for CapCut. This allows you to edit your photos or remove backgrounds and send it back to CapCut to add as a video element.
Hypic has so many free tools, including a background eraser or subject cutout feature. Just open your image and scroll toCutoutin the bottom menu.
The Cutout options are Auto, Quick select, Manual select, Eraser, and Reset. You can change the size of the brush for manual or quick selections, painting everything green that will be cut out from the background.
The auto selection is reliable and quick, and you can edit the selection if you need to fix edges. It isn’t the tightest selection in the world, but for most uses it will be fine. Tap theTickto confirm the selection, and you’ll be rewarded with your subject on a transparent background.
Download: Hypic foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
4Adobe Express (Premium)
Upload and select your image, and on the bottom tool menu, tapRemove background. If you want to remove other parts of your image instead of the background, selectRemove objectinstead to use one of theAdobe Firefly AI tools in Express.
The background removal feature is quick and will isolate your subject onto a plain white background. You can use any other Express tools or turn your isolated subject into an asset to send to other Adobe software.
For a transparent background after removing the image’s background, selectBackgroundfrom the bottom menu, and set theFilltooff(the swatch with a red line through it). You can save your image as a PNG to retain the transparent background.
Download: Adobe Express foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
5Snapseed (Free)
Snapseed doesn’t have a native background removal tool, and you can’t save images with a transparent background. But there is a way to remove your photo’s background and replace it with plain color in Snapseed.
Open your image in Snapseed, and go toTools>Double Exposure.
Your main photo is the first exposure. To remove the background, you need a plain black image to apply as the double exposure. You can either take a photo with your camera completely covered, or download a black rectangle from a stock website.
Tap theAdd Imageicon from the Double Exposure page to add your black image. It applies to your original photo in a translucent way, with a low-contrast effect. Tap theBlendicon—in the middle—to bring up the blending modes and chooseSubtractorDarken. This applies the black all over your image. Then tap theTick.
SelectEditat the top >View Edits>Double Exposure>Brush(middle icon). With Double Exposure set to100, brush the areas of background you want to remove/turn black—there isn’t a super accurate way of doing this in Snapseed mobile, but can use a stylus with more precision on a tablet. Tap theTickto apply, and your background will be removed and replaced with black.
This isn’t the most optimal way of removing a background, but it works for some effects, and you can further edit the image in Snapseed.
Download:Snapseed foriOS|Android(Free)
6Adobe Photoshop Express (Freemium)
AlthoughAdobe Photoshop Express is one of Adobe’s free creative apps, it does have a premium upgrade option. you’re able to remove the background of a photo for free, but free users will only be able to export the image with a watermark. Premium users can export without a watermark.
Upload your photo, then tapBackground>Remove. Once removed, you may add a plain color or a new image to the background, or choose to keep it transparent. To fix the selection edges, tapRefine Selectionand useAddorRemoveon the Smartcut tool or the Brush to refine the area for more precise results.
Download: Photoshop Express foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
7Picsart (Premium)
Picsart has both a Cutout option and a Remove BG option. TheCutoutoption lets you brush over the subject in your photo to remove everything else, leaving a transparent background. From a phone, it’s difficult to brush the area accurately, but from a desktop or tablet—using a stylus—it can be achieved easier. Cutout is a Pro feature, so to save your image, you need to have a subscription or use the free trial.
Download: Picsart foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
Removing backgrounds from images—especially to create transparent backgrounds—an elusive task to find free tools for. iPhone users have it built into their phones, although once the subject is cut out, there’s not a huge amount you’re able to do with the cutout.
Overall, Hypic is the best app for removing backgrounds from your images without cost or subscriptions. The app as a whole is a great image editing tool, too, and you can save your isolated subject image and use it in a variety of ways.
