How to remove blemishes and spots from a photo
Pimples on skin, dust specks the lens left behind, scratches and stains on old prints — small but distracting flaws. Upload your photo below, dab over each one, and click Erase; AI patches it with the matching texture around it. The smaller the flaw and the more even its surroundings, the more natural the fix. Free, no signup, nothing is ever uploaded.
AI-generated content labels are protected by law and must not be removed. Please don't use this tool for that.
Erase Cat provides processing tools only — please make sure you hold the rights to what you process. See our Terms.
Step by step
- 1
Upload the photo
Upload the photo with the blemish, spot or scratch.
- 2
Dab over each flaw
Flaws are usually tiny — shrink the brush, cover just the flaw, and avoid the clean skin or background around it.
- 3
Erase them one at a time
Clear them individually — brushing too much at once can smear texture, so small passes keep more detail.
Why spot removal beats blanket smoothing
The trick to clearing pimples and spots is to brush only the flaw itself. The AI rebuilds that tiny patch from the real skin texture beside it, so pores and detail survive — unlike one-tap smoothing that turns a whole face plastic. Brushing onto the clean skin around it just blurs the detail.
The smaller the flaw and the more even its surroundings, the more seamless the fix. That's why dust specks, a single pimple, or a small scratch on an old print come out best; a continuous mold patch or large stain loses too much information and needs to be worked in small sections.
Dab them out one at a time rather than painting a big area at once — small passes preserve more detail. For old prints, clear the spots and scratches here first, then hand the whole image to Photo Restore for an overall boost.
How it compares to cleanup.pictures, Magic Eraser & remove.bg
| 消除猫 / Erase Cat | cleanup.pictures | Magic Eraser | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uploads your photo to a server? | No · 100% local | Yes | In the gallery app |
| Free and unlimited? | ✓ | Free = low-res | Tied to a phone |
| Full-resolution export free? | ✓ | Paid / subscription | ✓ |
| Works in any desktop browser, any image? | ✓ | ✓ | Only in supported gallery apps |
| Watermark on results? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Signup / install required? | ✗ | Account for HD | Need the phone |
Comparison is based on each product's publicly stated terms (checked June 2026) and only covers verifiable axes — uploads, free/unlimited use, platform and watermarks — not a judgment of their output quality. Their policies may change; check their sites for the latest.
Frequently asked questions
Will spot removal smooth out skin texture and look fake?
Brush only the pimple, not the skin around it; the AI samples the real nearby texture, so it looks more natural than blanket smoothing — no plastic look.
Can I clear large mold stains on an old photo?
Small stains come off cleanly; large continuous patches lose too much information, so work in small sections or start with the most visible spots.
Can I also sharpen the whole old photo?
Yes — clear the spots and scratches here first, then run Erase Cat's Photo Restore to enhance clarity and quality; the two steps pair well.
Sources, review and limits
Last verified
2026-06-17
Author
Erase Cat editorial desk
Reviewer
Privacy and image-export review
Primary sources
- Browser Canvas and local image-processing APIs
- On-device segmentation/inpainting helpers where available
- User-provided images processed locally in the browser
Image cleanup results depend on the source image, browser support and model limits. Review exports before publishing, and only remove watermarks or marks you have the right to alter.