A blurred photo app is the best way to replace the Portrait Mode on your smartphone if it lags or blur photos unrealistically with visible edges.
If your smartphone stopped focusing on objects and you want to improve sharpness or deliberately blur the background to avoid negative consequences – here are several worthy apps to download.
12 Best Apps for Fixing/Making Blurry Photos
- Snapseed - Our Choice
- BeFunky - For fast sharpness improvement
- Lightroom - Detailed sharpness increase
- Fotor - Adding of sharpness and bokeh
- Pixlr - For professionals
- VSCO - Applying detailed presets
- Blur Photos - For an advanced bokeh effect
- Point Blur - For brushing with pixels
- Fotogenic - Universal app
- Lumii - Correction of blurred photos
- Lensa - Detailization and art effects
- Enhance Photo Quality - Has a Before/After Mode
Each blurred photo app on this list was tested for the possibility to add bokeh and fix sharpness issues. The best ones can work with RAW files and manage other settings, improve portraits and perform deep color correction.
1. Snapseed
- Fast sharpness improvement
- Work with RAW files
- Bokeh mode
- 40+ unique filters
- Automatic face correction
- No batch processing
Verdict: Snapseed is a free app to clear blurry pictures. It supports JPEG and RAW photographs.
To increase sharpness in the photos, you should select “Details” in the “Tool Menu”. Then choose the “Sharpening” tool and adjust the value moving the slider to the left/right; here, you may also adjust brightness using the structure slider. You may alter a mode or paint over the unnecessary parts of the image.
Snapseed also offers more than 40 unique filters and 29 basic and advanced tools, like tone curves, HSL, noise reduction, auto-correction of face defects, etc.
Having finished the image editing, you may save photos in JPEG, RAW, PNG formats, and send as a private message or upload directly to the social network.
2. BeFunky
- 2 ways to improve sharpness
- Flexible smart sharpness slider
- 100+ fonts
- Overlays library
- Some functions are closed
Verdict: Combining simplicity and effectiveness of semi-automated tools, BeFunky is an app to clear blurry pictures for beginners. It offers 2 ways to increase sharpness in blurry images. Click on “Edit” and you will see 2 parameters to improve sharpness ‒ “Sharpness” and “Smart Sharpness”.
Smart sharpness has a less strong effect working with middle tones without adding contrast to the photograph. The slider is smooth and without abrupt transitions while the same cannot be said about the neighboring tool.
Having coped with the basic task, you can move on to other settings, for example, face editing, adding one of 32 effects, overlaying a text, applying funny stickers and labels, adding a photo to the frame or creating a collage.
3. Lightroom
- Blurs RAW files
- Hundreds of presets
- Deep color correction
- Joint work with desktop editors
- Selective editing function is closed
Verdict: Lightroom for smartphones is one of the ten most powerful editors offering the features to improve blurred images. To do that, open an image in the app, touch the “Effects” tab and find the “Sharpness and Blurring” parameter.
Select the “Clarity” tool and adjust its value. Then, use the “Sharpness Improvement” tool in the “Information” tab. In the end, you may return to effects and apply “Dehaze”. Judging by its name, it will remove an atmospheric haze from the image.
Being a great blurred photo app, Lightroom mobile is also the best application for deep color correction with the possibility of selective photo editing. Among the tools available, you will find curves, HSL, healing brushes, Lightroom mobile presets, a text editor and more.
4. Fotor
- Access to blur tools without registration
- 2 ways to remove blur
- 100+ effects
- Doesn’t support RAW files
Verdict: Unlike a desktop version, Fotor mobile app offers access to blur tools without requiring registration. You may improve the image using classic sharpness tools in the general settings having scrolled one slider.
One more equally effective way to fix blurring is the “Structure” tool. It detects structures without touching the edges of the image. This tool has two options ‒ detalization and gradation. To clear the photo, you have to increase detalization.
Registered users get access to 100+ effects, various semi-automatic settings to edit face, and other basic tools. Unlike the above-mentioned blurred photo apps, Fotor doesn’t work with RAW files.
5. Pixlr
- Brush to increase sharpness/bokeh effect
- Tool to control the sharp area
- Double exposure
- Many functions are closed
Verdict: Using Pixlr, you may choose the “Brush” tool and paint with your fingers in those areas where you want to improve sharpness/add bokeh effect. There is also a classic “Sharpness” tool under the suitcase-icon. Adjust the slider from 1 to 100 but be careful since making the image sharper, you increase the edges of the objects.
For such purposes, there is one more slider called “Radius”. Using this option, you may control the size of the sharp area at the edges. Combining the effects of these two sliders, you may significantly improve your images.
For more advanced users, Pixlr blurred picture app offers a number of advanced tools and possibilities, including support of RAW files, layers, double exposure, text, effects, curves, automated tools, etc.
6. VSCO
- Fast classic sharpness parameter
- Advanced presets
- Simple interface
- Full kit of presets available via the subscription
- No bokeh effect
Verdict: VSCO blurred photo app offers such regular tools as “Sharpen” and “Clarity”. To find them, open a tab with tools and scroll a lower panel a little.
Having chosen the “Sharpen” parameter, adjust the slider from 1 to 100. When you are ready, save the changes clicking on the checkmark and repeat the process using the “Clarity” tool to smooth the edges.
The editor includes 10 free VSCO presets that may be used for RAW files, and photo editing tools, such as contrast and saturation to make your images popping. You may use grain and fade tools to add texture and imitate analog film effects.
Moreover, you may become a member of the VSCO community to get access to the full library of VSCO presets offering more than 200+ effects.
7. Blur Photos
- Fast and realistic bokeh
- Accurate reflection of the brush contour
- Portrait editing
- Doesn’t reduce blurring
- Only for iOS
Verdict: Blur Photos app is one of the best options for iOS users if their goal is to blur the background, faces or objects in the images accurately reflecting the blur brush contour in the magnifying glass.
Using the so-called brush, you may define the necessary image area you want to blur, click on it and adjust the intensity of the effect with a slider.
This blurred photo app also offers such options as filters, color correction tools, including HSL and portrait editing. Blur Photos application allows you to share the images on all popular social sites in several mouse clicks.
8. Point Blur
- Beautiful pixel brushing
- Increases sharpness
- Functionality
- Weak general functionality
- Only for Android
Verdict: This application is a perfect tool to blur a specific part of the image or face. You just have to use a finger to choose the area of the image you want to make “pixel-like” or blurred, and then set the brush size and the intensity of the effect.
Using this blurred photo app, you may simulate the bokeh effect, or on the contrary, make the image sharper, moving the sharpen slider. Frankly speaking, we haven’t noticed any other advanced features here.
Mind that you may apply the bokeh effect only to JPEG photographs and import finished photos to the gallery or social networks.
9. Fotogenic
- Professional bokeh
- 46+ additional tools
- Almost all functions are closed
- No support for RAW files
Verdict: Fotogenic is a free program with 46 tools for various image editing purposes. It is a great app to blur faces in photos, add a bokeh effect or adjust sharpness, and make the image more detailed.
The editor offers a simple interface and interesting scrollable tools. The reason why this app is at the end of the list is that almost all functions are limited in the free version.
Verdict: To correct blurry images, a free Lumii version offers the “Sharpness” tool located on the main screen. You may intensify the bokeh effect with a slider without the possibility to correct the edges. You may also increase the level of grain and enhance contrast.
However, we can’t name Lumii a truly blurred photo app because the main task of this tool is to create presets by overlaying corrections on the image. You may add filters and effects, overlays and frames.
You can adjust brightness, contrast, glares, warmth, shades, sharpness, exposure, adjust the curves, HSL and use selective tools.
There is also a history panel that allows returning to any action and making necessary corrections.
11. Lensa
- Fast sharpness improvement
- 300+ art filters
- Color correction settings
- Slow operation speed
- Requires an Internet connection
Verdict: Lensa is a first AI-based photo editor that offers a simple and fascinating image editing process. As soon as you open the necessary image, scroll it a little to find the “Sharpness” tool and drag the slider to the right.
Although it is a decent app to clear blurry pictures, you will not find such tools as “Structure” and “Clarity”; but instead, you may adjust the contrast to remove unnecessary light. The basic functionality of the tool is targeted at the transformation of images into over 300filters that resemble art pictures with complex transitions.
In the image editing mode, you may find a wide range of tools, including exposition, sharpness, contrast, brightness, etc.
12. Enhance Photo Quality
- Convenient slider to fix blurry areas
- Before/After mode
- Limited additional functionality
- Only for Android
Verdict: Enhance Photo Quality is a simple app to clear blurry pictures. It is a fast tool offering a minimal kit of additional editing functions. Having opened the image in this program, you instantly see the “Sharpness” icon. When you click on it, there appears an unusual slider in the form of a clock face.
The effect is really intensive, so you should slowly move the disk till you find a necessary point and then click “Apply”. You may view “before and after” pictures having clicked on the icon “A/B”.
Among additional tools, you will find several effects, the possibility to add text, vignette and other basic sliders to adjust color.
