Remove Unwanted Objects or People From Photos for €0

Updated: November 2026 · Prices checked: November 2026

A bin next to your shop sign. A stranger in the background of a team photo. A power line across a perfect view of the property you rent out. Removing these used to mean Photoshop skills or paying a retoucher. Today the free photo app on your phone does it in about ten seconds.

What you save

The paid route is a photo-editing subscription or a freelance retoucher. Photoroom Pro, which includes retouch tools for removing objects, costs $7.50 a month billed yearly, about €6.45. Full desktop editors cost more. For the occasional photo, all of that is now optional.

The maths: Photoroom Pro at $7.50 × 12 = $90 a year, about €77. If you clean up 10 photos a year for your website and social posts, that is €7.70 per photo. With the tools already on your phone or computer, the cost is €0.

How to do it step by step

Google Photos (Android and iPhone)

1. Open the photo in the Google Photos app and tap Edit.
2. Tap Search and type “Magic Eraser”. On Android you also find it under Actions. If asked, tap Install to download the tool.
3. Tap, circle or brush the object. Use Refine selection to add or subtract parts.
4. Tap Erase, then Done.
5. Tap Save as copy to keep the original.

Samsung Galaxy

1. Open the photo in Gallery and tap the pencil icon (Edit).
2. Find Object eraser. On some models you first switch it on under More options → Labs.
3. Tap or circle the object, tap Erase, then save. Save as copy keeps the original.

iPhone with Apple Intelligence

1. Open the photo in Photos and tap the edit button.
2. Tap Tools, then Clean Up.
3. Tap, brush or circle what you want to remove. Some items are highlighted for you.
4. Tap Done. You can undo it later with Reset.

Windows: open the photo in the Photos app, choose Edit Image, then Erase. Brush over the object. For several objects, turn off Auto Apply, mark each area, then apply.

If you use your phone for business photos often, our guide to the most useful daily AI uses on your phone has more tricks like this.

Tips for better results

• Remove in small bites. Erase one object at a time. Big selections give smeared results.
• Include the shadow. Brush over the object’s shadow too, or a ghost of it stays on the ground. Samsung’s Object eraser has separate shadow and reflection options on some models.
• Zoom in to check. Look for repeated patches, bent lines and blurry spots. Lines of tiles, fences and windows show errors first.
• Crop before you erase. If the object is near the edge, a crop is cleaner than AI.
• Try another tool. If one app smears the area, another may fill it better. They use different models.

Limits and traps

• It is a guess. The AI paints what it thinks was behind the object. Complex scenes, text and faces behind the object come out wrong.
• Device limits. Google Photos needs at least 3 GB RAM, Android 8.0+ or iOS 18+. Apple Clean Up needs an Apple Intelligence iPhone, and Apple notes it is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.
• Free web tools cut resolution. Cleanup.pictures Free has unlimited images but limits output to 720p. Fine for social posts, too small for print.
• Hidden marks. Apple says that from iOS 27.2 most images edited with its Apple Intelligence tools carry a SynthID hidden watermark. Expect more apps to mark AI edits.
• Do not mislead. Removing a scratch from a product you sell, or a building site next to a flat you rent out, is misleading the buyer. In an online shop that means returns and bad reviews. See our guide on AI for an online shop for honest uses.
• Privacy. Phone tools may process photos in the cloud. Do not upload photos with ID cards, documents or other people’s children to web tools. Our list of what never to share with AI applies to images too.

When to pay instead

• Print and large formats. Free web tools cap the resolution. For brochures or banners, use a full editor or a professional retoucher.
• High volume. If you clean product photos every week, a paid app with batch tools and commercial rights, such as Photoroom Pro, saves time.
• Hard jobs. Removing a person from a group hug, hair over a face or text on a patterned shirt still needs a human.
• Brand and legal images. Photos for ads, packaging or anything with a legal claim deserve a professional check.

For more free tools with honest limits, see 20 free AI tools for small business. If you need whole new images rather than fixes, our AI image generators comparison lists the costs.

Read also: Upscale Small or Blurry Images for €0 With Free Upscayl · Make a First Logo Draft With AI for €0 and Turn It Into a Vector · Edit Photos by Describing the Change for €0 in Gemini

Sources: Google Photos: edit your photos · Samsung: Object eraser · Apple: Clean Up in Photos · Apple: Clean Up requirements · Windows: Generative erase · Cleanup.pictures pricing · Photoroom pricing

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About the author

Ivan Ivanov

Founder ofHawkValue

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