Pixelate an image

How big the squares are

Cell size sets the squares, from 2 to 200 pixels of the picture, 16 at first. Each square takes its color from the patch of picture it covers. Every area under one Pixelate filter uses the same size, so several pixelated faces look alike.

How big is big enough? Count the squares across what you hide: a face covered by fewer than about ten squares across stops being recognizable, and a word needs squares about as tall as its letters. On a large photo that means bigger cells than on a small one.

For different sizes in one picture, say coarse squares over a face and fine ones over a screen in the background, select each area in turn and add Pixelate again: each filter keeps its own areas and its own size. The exported picture shows exactly what you see in the editor.

Pixelate, blur or black?

Squares and blur both keep a trace of the colors underneath. That is fine for a face, but large text in a known font can sometimes be read back from a mosaic, and squares over a single word still show how long it is. When in doubt, black out the whole line: press D for black as the foreground color, then fill the selection. More on soft blurs: blur image.

Pixelating screenshots before you share

Screenshots give away more than photos: email addresses, phone numbers, order numbers, the names in a group chat, the tabs open in a browser. Before you post one:

• Open the screenshot in the Photo Editor, or paste it straight in with Ctrl V.
• Go through it from top to bottom and select every name, number and face, holding Shift to add each one, including small profile pictures in corners.
• Check the easy-to-miss places: the address bar, the tab titles, the clock and pop-up notifications.
• Use black for anything you would not read out loud to a stranger.
• Export it as PNG, which keeps the rest of the text crisp.

Hide the Pixelate layer with its eye in the Layers panel to flick between your version and the original, a quick way to spot anything you missed. Share only the exported PNG: a saved project keeps the original underneath.

A pixel look for the whole picture

Want the whole photo as a mosaic, for a teaser, a spoiler or a background? Add Filter › Pixelate with nothing selected and the whole picture turns into squares, at whatever cell size you like.

Then add words over it with the Text tool. Text layers above the filter stay sharp, so “Coming soon” over a pixelated product photo works well, as does a pixelated final score with “No spoilers” across it. Delete the filter later and the photo is clear again, and the original file never changes.

A pixelated sunset keeps its glow, while a pixelated crowd turns into patches of clothing colors. Bold, simple pictures with large areas of color make the most striking mosaics, and busy ones turn to noise.