FreeAIPhoto Restorer
Restore an old photo
Clean up grain, blur and fading on old scans.
Drop an image here, or .
Free AI that runs on your device, no sign-up. Nothing is uploaded. Only edit photos you own or have permission to edit; see our Acceptable Use Policy.
Photo Restorer: how to use it
- Scan or photograph the old print as flat and evenly lit as you can, then drop it in.
- Choose whether to Fix fading and yellowing, and whether to Colorize if it is black and white.
- Pick the Output size and restore.
Tips
- Grain, blur and fading are cleaned up. Tears, scratches and missing corners are not; use the Object Eraser or Retouch Tools on those afterwards.
- Added colour is the AI's best guess, not the real colours. Keep the original scan as well.
Photo Restorer: what it does and when to use it
Old photographs usually suffer from three things at once: grain and blur from the print and the scan, fading and a yellow or magenta cast from ageing paper and dyes, and missing colour. The restorer runs them in order. First the Real-ESRGAN model is run at 4× and the result scaled back down, which clears grain, softness and scanning artefacts while keeping edges; then tone and colour are corrected automatically; then, if the photo is black and white and you asked for colour, it is colorized with the DDColor model.
The better the scan, the better the result. Scan prints at 600 DPI or more, or photograph them flat, in even daylight, with no glare. Choose Keep the original tone if the brown of a sepia print is part of what you love about it.
The restorer does not repair physical damage such as tears, creases, scratches or missing corners; paint those out afterwards with the Object Eraser. Colour added to black-and-white photos is a plausible guess, not a record of what people wore. Our vintage photo restoration guide covers scanning, repair and archiving in depth.
Photo Restorer: frequently asked questions
Is the Photo Restorer free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, the Photo Restorer is 100% free with no sign-up, no login and no account. The Photo Restorer runs its AI model on your own device, so it has no credits, no daily limit and no upload, and saves at full resolution with no watermark. See why it is free.
What does the photo restorer fix?
Grain, blur, JPEG damage and fading. It cleans the scan with the Real-ESRGAN model, stretches faded contrast and removes the yellow or magenta cast of an old print, and can colorize a black and white photo. Scratches and tears are best removed afterwards with the Object Eraser.
How can I restore an old photo for free?
Scan or photograph the print, open it here and press Restore. The AI cleans grain and blur, lifts faded contrast and removes the yellow cast of old paper, all on your device. Remove scratches afterwards with the Object Eraser, and add colour with the Photo Colorizer.
What resolution should I scan an old photo at?
At least 600 DPI for standard prints, and 1200 DPI for small wallet-size photos you want to enlarge. A good scan matters more than any restoration step, because nothing can bring back detail the scan did not capture. Our DPI guide explains why.
Can I restore a photo on my phone?
Yes. Photograph the print flat, in soft daylight with no flash, holding the phone parallel to it, then open the photo here in your phone browser. The Perspective Corrector squares it up if it was taken at a slight angle.