How to blur a face in a video on iPhone
Blurring a face in a photo takes a minute. In a video, the face moves, turns and leaves the frame, so the blur has to follow it in every frame. Here’s what works on iPhone, and what doesn’t.
By the BlurTap team · Updated
Short answer: the Photos app and iMovie can’t blur a moving face. You can crop the person out in Photos, use a desktop editor with motion tracking (Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro), or use an iPhone app that detects and blurs faces in every frame automatically.
Your options compared
| Option | Follows the face | Effort | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crop in Photos | No, removes part of the frame | Low | Free |
| iMovie | No blur mask at all | n/a | Free |
| Desktop editor with tracking | Yes, after you set it up | High: mask, track, check | Free to paid |
| Automatic face blur app | Yes, every face, every frame | Low | Varies |
Option 1: Crop the person out (Photos app)
If the person stays near one edge for the whole clip, cropping is the cleanest fix.
- Open the video in Photos and tap Edit.
- Tap Crop and drag the frame edges inward until they’re out of shot.
- Play it through, then tap Done.
This doesn’t work when they walk across the frame or stand in the middle.
Option 2: A video editor with motion tracking
Professional editors let you draw a mask over a face, apply a blur inside it and track the mask as the face moves. Final Cut Pro (Mac), DaVinci Resolve (Mac and Windows, with a free version) and Adobe Premiere Pro can all do it. The general process:
- Import the clip and add a blur or mosaic effect.
- Limit the effect to a shape over the face.
- Run the tracker so the shape follows the face. Fix the frames where it slips.
- Repeat for each person, then export.
Accurate, but slow: a few minutes per face per clip, more when people turn or overlap.
Option 3: Blur faces automatically with BlurTap
- Open BlurTap and choose the video.
- BlurTap finds the faces throughout the clip and blurs them, along with license plates and text if you want those hidden too.
- Preview the result, then save or share.
Processing happens on the iPhone, so the video is never uploaded. The copy you export has the blur burned in and the GPS location removed. Your original stays in your library.
What people forget in videos
- The cover frame. Many apps pick a thumbnail from the clip. Make sure it comes from the blurred version.
- Faces that appear late, in mirrors, in windows or on screens in the background.
- Audio. Names, addresses and school names said out loud aren’t blurred. Mute or cut those parts.
- Captions and on-screen text such as name tags, house numbers and plates.
- Location data in the file itself. Share without it.
For still photos, see how to blur faces on iPhone. To understand how strong a blur needs to be, read can blurred photos be unblurred?
Frequently asked questions
Can iMovie blur a face?
No. iMovie can crop, zoom and apply filters to the whole frame, but it has no blur mask and no tracking, so it can’t blur one moving face. On a Mac, Final Cut Pro can, with a blur effect and its object tracker.
Is there a free way to blur faces in a video?
On a computer, the free version of DaVinci Resolve can blur part of the frame and track it as it moves, but it takes time to learn. On iPhone, the quickest free route is cropping the person out in Photos if they stay near the edge. For automatic blurring, use an app that detects faces in every frame.
How do I blur a face that only appears for a few seconds?
With automatic detection you don’t need to find it yourself: every frame is checked. In a manual editor, find the first and last frame where the face is visible and track the mask between them. Then scrub through slowly to make sure it never slips off the face.
Does blurring a video remove its location?
Not by itself. Videos from the iPhone camera store the location where they were recorded. Turn off Location under Options in the share sheet, or see how to remove location on iPhone. BlurTap removes it from the exported copy automatically.
Should I blur faces in videos I send to the police or my insurer?
No. Send them the original, unedited file. Blur the copy you post publicly instead.