How to Edit Blurry Photos: 10 Best Blur Background Editing Apps

How to Edit Blurry Photos: 10 Best Blur Background Editing Apps-feature image
May 10, 2023 Reviewed By : Palak Mashiwal .11 Min read

Photos act as reminders of the past and enable us to share our experiences with others for purposes like informing, educating, and entertaining.

It is frustrating yet common to get unclear and blurry photos. Often, people end up cropping the part or deleting the blurred photos. But there are numerous tools available nowadays that can sharpen such images and improve their quality.

How to Edit Blurry Photos?

There are in-built apps in mobiles and desktops that can generally fix mild to medium blurry photos.

Users open the photo to be fixed and choose the options provided by in-built tools such as focusing on a point, sharpening the image, etc. The new image can be saved or shared with others.

But these tools can decrease blur images to a certain extent. You can upload the photo or add an image URL to a photo editor for advanced editing and customization options. You can fix blurry pictures online on a web-based editor, a mobile app, and PC or Mac software.

While some apps to edit blurry photos are simple to use, others require learning to get the best result. Once you apply the editing options you want, the resulting high-resolution image can be downloaded or saved. 

10 Best Online Photo Blur Editors for Blur Background Editing

Here are some apps for blurry image fixes available on different operating systems.

  • BeFunky Photo Editor Online

BeFunky blur background photo editor offers semi-automated tools to add visibility to blurry images. There are two ways to increase sharpness, provided under the Edit option. They are Sharpness and Smart Sharpness.

blurred background photo editors

The smart sharpness slider is smooth, and there are no abrupt transitions. There are other features for editing like face editor, effects, text overlays, photo frames, stickers, labels, collage maker, etc.

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, Web

Pros:

  • Great for beginners
  • Two different ways to improve sharpness
  • Smooth sharpness slider
  • 100+ fonts
  • Overlays library

Cons:

  • Too many ads
  • No eraser tool

Pricing: The app is free. The premium version of this online photo blur editor starts at ₹365.85 per month for an annual subscription.

Related Categories: Photo Editing Software |Designing Solutions |3D Design Software

  • Lightroom Online Photo Editor

Adobe Lightroom provides a Sharpness and Blurring parameter under its Effects category. You can adjust the Clarity value and apply Dehaze effect to make the picture clearer.

The sharpness improvement tool in the Information tab is another option that can be used. It also has selective photo editing, deep color correction, healing brushes, text editor, HSL and more.

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac

Pros:

  • Can blur RAW files  
  • Deep color correction
  • Hundreds of presets

Cons:

  • Lacks advanced photo editing tools
  • Cannot choose which photos to sync

Lightroom Pricing: The app is free to install. In-app purchases start at INR 170. The desktop version starts at ₹797.68 per month.

  • Adobe Photoshop Online

Adobe Photoshop Blur Photo Editor is an AI-based tool that is user-friendly and easier to learn than Photoshop software. The bokeh (blur background) feature makes it easy to apply blurring effects.

There are quick auto-tone fixes and other portrait controls. You can apply filters, get effect recommendations, and more for enhanced photo quality.

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pros:

  • Several sharpening tools like Clarity and Sharpen
  • Magic wand tool to fix blur with a click
  • 100+ lens options

Cons:

  • No zoom option for editing (only in crop)
  • Layering lens effect only after saving each effect for the same reason you can look into apps like photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop Pricing: The app is free. There is an optional in-app purchase to add the app to Creative Cloud storage.

  • Paint Shop Online Photo Editor to Blur Background

Paint shop Photo Editor enables users to use adjustment tools like sharpening, noise removal, fill light and clarity, fade and color correction, brightness, contrast, among others.

Paint Shop Online Photo Editor to Blur Background

Restoration and repair can be done via Scratch Remover and Fade Correction tools. You can alter the focus with composition guides, golden ratio, and the rule of thirds. It is also possible to resize by presets, pixels, percent, or print.

Platforms: Windows

Pros:

  • Several sharpening and image correction tools
  • Great for photographers and hobbyists
  • Supports RAW image files
  • Perpetual license

Cons:

  • Learning curve
  • Only supports Windows

Paint Shop Price: The pricing starts at ₹3,120.00. It offers a free 30-day trial.

  • Fotor Photo Editor

Fotor enables users to blur photos without registration. There are several de-blurring tools, including classic sharpness and structure tools. You can use structure tools and blur background for photo editing.

Fotor Photo Editor

It has fully customizable artistic blur tools (like bokeh blurs). There are other options like face editing too.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac

Pros: 

  • Easy to get started
  • Batch Processing
  • Two ways to fix blurry pictures
  • 100+ effects

Cons:

  • Free version includes ads
  • No support for RAW files

Fotor Price: The free version has limited features. In-app purchases start at INR 69.00. Pro software pricing starts at ₹2931.79.

  • Lumii Photo Editor App for Blur Background

Lumii Photo Editor gives grain and sharpening options to remove blurs. You can also increase the bokeh effect or contrast. The history panel makes it easy to go back to a task.

There are tools for erasing objects, changing light exposition, adjusting curves, removing imperfections, adding filters, stickers, effects, overlays and more.

Platforms: Android

Pros:

  • Simple interface
  • Presets to automate blur removal
  • Sharpness tool in free version

Cons:

  • Cannot work on selective parts of the photo
  • Not ideal for beginners

Lumii Photo Editor Pricing: In-app purchases start at ₹250.00.

  • Pixlr Photo Editor

Pixlr photo editor allows users to fix a blurry photo online. It provides a brush and paint option for improving sharpness or applying the bokeh effect to different areas.

Pixlr Photo Editor

The sharpness tool can be adjusted with both slider and radius options. This ensures control over the sharpness at the edges. It also has effects, filters, layers, text, curves, double exposure, etc.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Web

Pros:

  • Supports RAW files
  • Variety of editing tools and photo focusing features

Cons:

  • Contains ads in the free version
  • Quality of the image (resolution) gets reduced when you download the edited image

Pixlr Pricing: In-app pricing starts at ₹85.00. It offers a 30-day free trial for a premium version. Pricing starts at ₹359.23 for the premium version.

  • Point Blur Photo Editor

Point Blur Photo Fix enables users to sharpen the image via a sharpening slider. You can also simulate the bokeh effect or blur a part of the photo after setting brush size and intensity.

The edited image can be imported to a gallery or social media.

Platforms: Android

Pros:

  • Pixel brushing
  • Selective photo part editing
  • Several blurs and mosaics

Cons:

  • Contains ads
  • Bokeh effect only for JPEG

Point Phot Editor Pricing: The app is free.

  • VSCO Photo Editor

VSCO photo editor has a simple interface and provides tools like Sharpen and Clarity to enhance a photo. The slider can adjust the Sharpen parameter. Clarity helps to keep the edges smooth.

VSCO Photo Editor

Other tools include contrast, saturation, grain, and fade. You can keep track of your images via their connected social media-type platform. There are advanced presets which can be used for RAW files, out of which ten are free.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Pros:

  • Supports RAW files
  • Sharpening Tools are free
  • 200+ effects
  • A large variety of filters

Cons:

  • No bokeh effect
  • Cannot zoom in on the image that is being edited

VSCO Price: The cost of in-app products begins at ₹53.83. It offers a 7-day free trial, and the premium membership starts at ₹1465.53 per year.

  • Snapseed Photo Editor

Snapseed enables users to choose the sharpened degree to remove noise and improve photo quality. You can also use the auto-enhance capability or brush to selectively retouch saturation, exposure, brightness, and more. There are many indirect features for blur removal, like the Details option in Tool Menu that refines surface structures.

There are many other tools like HSL, auto-correction of face defects, noise reduction, etc. You can save edited photos in JPEG, RAW, PNG formats and share them via messages or social media platforms.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Pros:

  • Supports RAW files
  • Free precision-based blur removal
  • 40+ filters

Cons:

  • No batch processing
  • Insight tool necessary for navigation

Snapseed Price: The app is free.

Suggested Read: Top Photo Editing Software for PC

  • GIMP Photo Editor

GIMP blurry edit app offers several features like Unsharp Mask that can fix blur images and bring the elements to focus. You can also retouch photos, convert original image formats, and so on.

There are filters, selection tools, color tools, and other image manipulation options. You can also use it for cropping, zooming, rotating, flipping, erasing, and more.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux

Pros:

  • Free and open source
  • Highly customizable
  • Zoom in/out feature
  • Multiple Undo/Redo option

Cons:

  • Too many ads
  • Steep learning curve

GIMP Price: GIMP is free for both personal and commercial purposes. XGIMP, an adaptation of the app GIMP for Android and iOS, is also free. The iOS version offers an ad-free app at ₹72.58.

  • Fotogenic Photo Editor

Fotogenic is an image blur editor that enables users to swipe their fingers and remove the blur in specific areas using the Detail function. You can use Defocus for blur background editing.

You can also increase the sharpness, add a professional bokeh effect, or blur faces you do not want. Other features are to adjust colors and lighting, crop or rotate photos, add captions and speech bubbles, and the like.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Pros:

  • Simple interface and scrollable tools
  • 46+ image editing tools

Cons:

  • Does not support RAW files
  • Limited features in free version

Fotogenic Pricing: After the app download, in-app purchase begins at ₹199.99 per item. You can also upgrade to the Pro version.

  • Photofocus Photo Editor

Photofocus photo editor can quickly remove blurs and creates well-defined photos. Besides sharpen and blur, you can also use brightness & contrast adjustment.

It is possible to auto-enhance image quality in just one tap or manually does it. Other features available in the app include effects, auto-focus, cropping, frames, filters, rotating, temperature control, and so on.

Platforms: Android

Pros:

  • Can load pictures from Facebook
  • Multiple photo filters
  • Finger paint blur mode

Cons:

  • Too many ads
  • Slow speed, at times

Pricing: In-app purchases begin at ₹70.00 per item.

  • Lensa Photo Editor for Blur Image Fix

Lensa photo editor blur app is an AI-based photo editing app that offers a simple image blur removal process. You just scroll and choose the Sharpness tool while editing an image.

Slider is available for adjustment. You can use contrast to adjust the light. Other tools include brightness, exposition, and many more. It can be used to add filters to convert images to art pictures with transitions too.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Pros:

  • Auto-adjust
  • Color correction
  • 300+ art filters

Cons:

  • Slow speed
  • Needs high-speed Internet

Lensa Pricing: In-app purchases start at ₹85.00.

  • Afterlight Blurred Pic Editor

Afterlight blurred editor offers quick and simple options to remove blur and edit photos for enhancing their quality. There are editing options like overlays/ gradients, HSL, curves, grain and so on.

You can choose from more than a hundred fonts and designs and customize each layer via colors, masking, shadows, and more. Filters and frames are also available to change your image style.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Pros:

  • Free version
  • Precision editing
  • 130+ filters 
  • 15 photo enhancing tools

Cons:

  • No Zoom or landscape mode for editing photos
  • Issues with the Android version sometimes

Afterlight Pricing: In-app purchases begin at ₹72.58.

Conclusion:

There are many more tools available in the market for blur removal. You can make the right selection using this app list based on your short- or long-term requirements.

Written by Ayushee Sharma

Ayushee is currently pursuing MBA Business Analytics from SCMHRD, Pune with a strong background in Electronics and Communication Engineering from IGDTUW. She has 2 plus years of full-time work experience as an SEO content writer and a Technology Journalist with a keen interest the amalgamation of business and... Read more

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