How to remove the background from a photo on iPhone

Since iOS 16, iPhone has had a built-in way to cut the subject out of a photo: touch and hold the person, pet or object, and it lifts away from the background. Apple calls it lifting a subject from the background. It is quick and free, but it is designed for copying and sharing, not for producing files, so getting a clean transparent PNG takes a few extra steps.

This guide covers where the feature works, what changed between iOS versions, how to save the result as a sticker or a PNG, two more built-in routes (Preview and Shortcuts), and the limits worth knowing before you rely on it for product photos.

What you need

• iOS 16 or later. Apple's iOS 16 release notes introduced the feature as part of Visual Look Up: you can lift the subject of an image from the background and copy and paste it into apps like Mail and Messages.
• A supported iPhone. Apple's guide says the feature is available on supported models without listing them on the page. If touch and hold does nothing on a clear photo, your model may not support it.
• iOS 17 or later for the extra options: lifting a subject from a paused video frame, and Add Sticker.

To check your version, open Settings > General > About and look at iOS Version.

Lift a subject in the Photos app

These are the steps from Apple's current iPhone User Guide:

1. Open a photo in full screen, or pause a video on any frame (iOS 17 and later).
2. Touch and hold the subject. A glowing outline appears around it when iPhone has found it.
3. Choose what to do with it from the options below.

• Copy (or Copy Subject): paste the cut-out into an email, a message or a note.
• Drag and drop: keep holding, then with another finger open a document in another app and drag the subject into it.
• Look Up: learn more about the subject, for example the breed of a dog or the name of a plant.
• Add Sticker (iOS 17 and later): save the cut-out as a sticker for Markup, Messages and more.
• Share: send it with AirDrop, Mail or another sharing option.

In iOS 16 the menu offered only Copy and Share. Video frames, drag and drop to another app's document, Look Up and Add Sticker appear in the iOS 17 version of Apple's guide.

In Safari, Quick Look and other apps

Apple says you can use the same feature "in Photos, Safari, Quick Look, and more".

• Safari: open the image (tap it so it shows on its own if the page allows), then touch and hold the subject until the outline appears. You get the same Copy and Share options. This is handy for a product image on a supplier's site, but respect the image's copyright before reusing it.
• Quick Look: the full-screen previewer you see when you open an image attachment or tap an image file in the Files app. Touch and hold the subject in the preview.
• Screenshots and other apps: any view that supports the feature behaves the same way. If touch and hold only selects text or opens a menu, the app does not support lifting subjects.

How to save the cut-out as a file

This is where people get stuck. Copy puts the subject on the clipboard and Add Sticker files it in your sticker drawer, but neither puts a transparent PNG in your photo library or a folder. Here are the reliable routes.

Option 1: Share it straight away

After touching and holding the subject, tap Share and choose where it should go: AirDrop it to your Mac, attach it to an email to yourself, or save it to Files. Before you rely on the file, check that the background really is transparent by placing it on a dark slide or document; the alpha channel guide has other ways to check.

Option 2: Paste it into an app that keeps transparency

Copy the subject, then paste it into Notes or a document or design app. From there you can export or share it. This is the easiest way to place the cut-out in a layout or on a new background.

Option 3: Keep it as a sticker

If the goal is to use the cut-out in Messages or Markup, Add Sticker is the best choice. Stickers stay available in the sticker drawer of the emoji keyboard, so you do not need a file at all. For printable stickers you still want a PNG; see our stickers page once you have one.

Option 4: Preview on iPhone

Recent versions of iOS include a Preview app on iPhone (it appears in the iOS 26 and iOS 27 versions of Apple's guide). Its image editor has a Remove Background command:

1. Open the Preview app and open the image.
2. Tap the More button, then tap Remove Background.
3. Apple notes the option appears only when Preview detects a subject, such as a person, animal or object.

Because Preview works on the file itself, this is the closest built-in route to "open image, remove background, keep the file". Use Undo from the same menu if the result is wrong.

The Shortcuts route

If you remove backgrounds often, the Shortcuts app can do it in one tap from the share sheet. iOS 16 added a background removal step to Shortcuts, which TechCrunch reported as "Remove Background from Image" when the feature launched.

A simple shortcut needs three actions:

1. Select Photos, so the shortcut asks which photo to use (or accept images from the share sheet instead).
2. The background removal action. Search the action list for "Remove Background"; exact names can differ slightly between iOS versions.
3. Save to Photo Album, which saves the result to Recents or an album you choose.

Run it from the Shortcuts app, or set it up to run from the share sheet, as in TechCrunch's example, so it is one tap away when you are looking at a photo.

Limits to know

The built-in tools are impressive for a long press, but they have real limits:

• It chooses the subject. You cannot tell it which object you mean or draw a selection. With several objects, it may lift one, several or none. In TechCrunch's early testing, it only picked up objects in the photo's focus area.
• No edge controls. There is no brush to fix a missed strap or a gap between arm and body, and no setting for softer or harder edges.
• Hair and fur vary. Clear portraits often work well; frizzy hair against a busy background can lose strands or keep bits of background.
• Busy or low-contrast photos fail more. A white mug on a white table is harder than the same mug on a dark table.
• One at a time in Photos. For a whole folder of product shots, the Shortcuts route or a batch tool is far quicker.
• Resolution depends on the source. Lifting from a screenshot or a small web image gives a small cut-out.

Using iPhone cut-outs for product listings

For marketplace main images you usually want a white background, not transparency. Amazon and Walmart main images use pure white (RGB 255, 255, 255), and Etsy does not support transparent PNGs. Place the cut-out on a white canvas in an editing app and export as JPEG, or use a tool that fills the background for you. The product photo size reference lists each platform's sizes, and the home product photography guide covers shooting photos that cut out cleanly in the first place.

A faster option for many photos

When you have dozens of images, or need a specific background color and size, removebackground.dev works in Safari on iPhone: upload JPG, PNG or WebP photos, and download a transparent PNG or a JPG on white. New accounts get 50 free credits.