Pixelate Image
The image is downsampled, then scaled back up without smoothing.
How Pixelate Image works
Pixelate an image into chunky blocks for censoring or style. The image is downsampled, then scaled back up without smoothing. Everything happens inside this page: the tool reads your input, runs the calculation or conversion locally, and hands the result back to you. Nothing is transmitted, because there is no backend to transmit it to.
That design choice is deliberate. Most free tool sites upload your files to a server, process them there, and quietly keep a copy. Toolcin cannot do that — the site is a set of static files. If your connection dropped the moment the page finished loading, every tool would still work.
How the mosaic is made
The image is drawn down to a tiny canvas — one pixel per 24-pixel block — then scaled back up with smoothing off, so each block becomes a flat square of colour. The output keeps the original dimensions.
That two-step downscale-then-upscale is why the blocks align to a grid and why large images get visibly larger blocks than small ones: the block size is fixed at 24 pixels of the output, not a percentage.
Pixelate versus blur for redaction
Pixelation destroys more information per block than a light blur, because every pixel in the block is replaced by one averaged value. For a face or a number, it is the more reliable choice.
Neither is cryptography. With very large blocks across a small region, statistical reconstruction is possible in principle — for anything genuinely sensitive, crop or cover the area instead.
| Method | Recoverability | Looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Pixelate (24 px) | Low, but not zero | Mosaic |
| Blur (3 px) | Higher | Soft smudge |
| Solid block | None | Redaction bar |
Creative use
It is also a legitimate design effect — a pixelated background behind sharp text, or an intentional low-res aesthetic. At 24-pixel blocks on a 1000-pixel image the effect is strong; on a 6000-pixel photo it reads as a light texture.
Good to know
- Works offline once loaded, including on flights and in locked-down networks.
- No file size limit beyond your device's own memory.
- Free to use, with no account and no usage counter.
- Results are produced locally, so they are not logged or shared with anyone.
Questions
Is my photo uploaded?
No — the image is drawn on a canvas inside your browser and never leaves your device.
Which format is the result?
PNG, which keeps full quality and supports transparency.
Can I change the block size?
Not in this version; it is fixed at 24 pixels.
Does the output stay the same size?
Yes, dimensions are unchanged.
Keep going
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