Snip for iPhone and iPad · Guide
How to remove people and objects from photos on iPhone
On iPhone 15 Pro and newer models with Apple Intelligence, use Clean Up in Photos: tap, brush or circle what you want gone. On other iPhones — or when you’d rather tap a detected person or a caption than brush — use Snip: it finds people, objects and text in the photo and fills in the background. Snip’s eraser is part of PRO.
Remove objects with Clean Up in Photos
Clean Up is part of Apple Intelligence. In iOS 27 it’s available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 or later, in supported languages and regions.
Open the photo
In Photos, open the photo and tap the edit button.
Open Clean Up
In iOS 27, tap Tools, then Clean Up. In iOS 18 and iOS 26, Clean Up is right in the edit toolbar.
Remove what you don’t want
Tap, brush or circle it. Photos may highlight distractions for you to tap. Pinch to zoom in on small details.
Save
Tap Done. To undo later, open Clean Up on the same photo and tap Reset.
In iOS 27 you can also choose how Clean Up processes the photo: Auto, Fast or High Quality.
Where Clean Up stops
- No Apple Intelligence, no Clean Up: iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and older models don’t have it.
- In iOS 18 and iOS 26, brushing over a person’s face may blur it with a pixelated effect instead of removing it.
- Apple notes that usage limits may apply to its Apple Intelligence photo tools.
- There’s no list of what’s in the photo: text and small objects have to be found and brushed by hand.
Remove people and objects with Snip
Snip’s eraser works on any iPhone or iPad with iOS 15.0 or later, including models without Apple Intelligence. It’s part of PRO. Erasing happens on our server, so you need an internet connection.
Open Erase Objects
In Snip, tap the Erase Objects tab, then Select image to choose a photo, or the camera button to take one.
Tap what to remove
Tap Detections to see the people, objects and text Snip found in the photo, and tap the ones you want gone. You can also tap a highlighted object right on the photo.
Brush over the rest
Choose Brush and paint over anything that wasn’t detected, together with its shadow. Change the Brush Size, and use Undo to take back a stroke.
Tap Erase
Tap the white Erase button. Snip fills in the area to match its surroundings and leaves the rest of the photo unchanged.
Compare and save
Tap the thumbnails at the bottom to switch between the original and each erase. Then tap the export button and choose Save to add a PNG to Photos, or Share.
No Clean Up on your iPhone?
Clean Up needs Apple Intelligence, so on iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and older models it simply isn’t there. Snip doesn’t depend on it: the eraser works the same on an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 17.
The eraser is also built into Snip’s background remover. After the cutout, tap Erase Objects above the photo to remove a price tag or a stray cable before you save. Removing backgrounds on iPhone.
Tips for a clean result
- Select the whole object with its shadow or reflection, and brush slightly past its edges.
- Remove several things one by one: erase, check the result, then select the next.
- If a trace remains, brush over that spot and tap Erase again.
- Sky, grass, sand and walls give the most natural result. Faces or text hidden behind the object can’t be recovered exactly — the AI fills in what fits the surroundings.
Clean Up or Snip?
If your iPhone has Clean Up, it’s a quick free fix. Snip works on any iPhone and finds people, objects and text for you.
| Feature | Clean Up in Photos | Snip |
|---|---|---|
| Which devices | iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 or later with Apple Intelligence | Any iPhone or iPad with iOS 15.0 or later |
| Selecting | Tap, brush or circle; some distractions are highlighted for you | Tap detected people, objects and text; or brush |
| Removing all text | Brush over each piece | Detections → Text → All |
| Going back | Undo, Reset | Switch between the original and each erase |
| Result | Saved in your Photos library | PNG saved to Photos or shared |
| Price | Free, part of iOS | PRO, from $9.99 a month |
Questions about removing objects on iPhone
Does the iPhone have an object eraser?
Yes, on models with Apple Intelligence: Clean Up in the Photos app, available since iOS 18.1 on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 or later. Other iPhones don’t have a built-in object eraser, so you need an app such as Snip.
Why can’t I use Clean Up on my iPhone?
Clean Up needs Apple Intelligence: a supported iPhone, Apple Intelligence turned on in Settings, and the device and Siri language set to the same supported language. It isn’t available in every region and doesn’t currently work on devices bought in China mainland.
How do I remove an object from a photo on iPhone without an app?
If your iPhone supports Apple Intelligence, use Clean Up: open the photo in Photos, tap the edit button, open Clean Up and brush over the object. Without Apple Intelligence, iOS has no built-in way to erase objects.
Can I remove a person from a photo on iPhone for free?
Clean Up in Photos is free on iPhones with Apple Intelligence. Snip’s eraser on iPhone is part of PRO. On Mac, Snip erases objects for free in Balanced quality, 3 photos a day, and one PRO subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Is there a Magic Eraser on iPhone?
Magic Eraser is the name of the object eraser in Google Photos, not an iPhone feature. Apple’s own tool is Clean Up in Photos, and Snip’s Erase Objects does the same job on iPhones without Apple Intelligence.
Can Snip remove text from a photo?
Yes. Open Detections, switch to Text and tap the words you want gone — or tap All to select every piece of text at once. Then tap Erase.
Does the eraser reduce photo quality?
Snip replaces only the area you selected and keeps the rest of the photo, up to 4096 px on the long side. Very large areas are rebuilt from a smaller copy, so they can look softer than the rest — erase big objects in parts.