How to blur your child’s face in photos
Lots of parents share photos of their kids with the face hidden. The face is only part of it, though: a school jumper, a name on a backpack or the location saved in the photo can identify a child just as well. Here’s how to hide all of it on iPhone.
By the BlurTap team · Updated
Short answer: on iPhone, open the photo, tap Edit → Markup and cover your child’s face with a solid shape or an emoji sticker, or use Clean Up to pixelate it on iPhones with Apple Intelligence. Then hide school logos and names, and share with Location turned off under Options.
Ways to hide a child’s face, compared
| Method | Safe? | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Emoji or solid shape (Markup) | Yes, if fully opaque | One or two faces, playful posts |
| Clean Up pixelation | Yes, the blocks are coarse | A natural look, one face at a time |
| Light blur or soft filter | No, the face stays recognisable | Nothing |
| Photo from behind or cropped | Yes | Planning the shot in advance |
| Automatic face blur app | Yes, with a strong blur | Group photos, many photos, videos |
Cover the face with an emoji or shape (Markup)
- Open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, then the Markup (pen tip) icon.
- Tap + and choose Add Sticker for an emoji, or a shape set to filled.
- Drag it over the face and resize it so it covers the hair line, ears and chin.
- Tap Done, then zoom in to check nothing shows around the edges.
Pixelate the face (Clean Up)
On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, tap Edit → Clean Up and brush over the face: Photos pixelates it. It works on one face at a time and on photos only. The detailed steps, and the options on older iPhones, are in how to blur faces on iPhone.
The details that identify a child without their face
- School uniforms and logos on jumpers, bags and sports kits.
- Names on backpacks, lunch boxes, birthday cakes, certificates and name tags.
- Your house: the front door, house number, street sign or car plate in the background.
- Their age and birthday, often visible on cakes, balloons and cards. Combined with a name, it’s what identity fraud needs. Barclays forecast in 2018 that “sharenting” would account for two-thirds of identity fraud facing young people by 2030.
- The location in the file. Photos taken at home store your home’s coordinates. Share with Location turned off, and see which apps remove it for you.
- Other children in the picture. Blur them too unless their parents agreed.
Where you post matters
A private family album or a group chat reaches fewer people than a public profile, but photos are easy to screenshot and forward. Assume anything you post can travel further than you intended. Platform-specific tips are in our guides for Instagram and Facebook, and the general checklist is in blur faces before posting.
Blur faces automatically
For birthday parties, school events and videos, covering faces one by one gets slow. BlurTap detects every face in a photo or video and blurs it on your iPhone, and blurs text and plates if you want. To try it on a single photo without installing anything, use the free online face blur in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Is an emoji over a child’s face safe?
Yes, as long as it is fully opaque, covers the whole face and is flattened into the image you share, which is what happens when you add it in Markup or most editing apps and save. An emoji added as a sticker in an Instagram story is also burned into the posted story. Avoid see-through stickers and light blurs.
Should I blur other children in school or party photos?
Yes, unless their parents have said it’s fine. Many schools and clubs ask parents not to post photos of other children from events, and some families have safety reasons you won’t know about. Blurring the other faces lets you share your own child’s moment.
Does blurring the face make a photo of my child safe to post?
It removes the biggest identifier, but not the rest: a school logo, a name on a bag, the house behind them or the location stored in the file can still say who and where they are. Use the checklist on this page before posting.
Can I blur my child’s face in a video?
Yes, but the blur has to follow the face in every frame. The Photos app can’t do that. See how to blur a face in a video on iPhone for the options.