Blur Effects
Release availability: Edge Feather is included in the current macOS 2.1.2 release. The current public Windows 2.1.0 build predates this feature; on Windows, use a release whose Release Notes list it.
Available effects
These effects render in detected faces, heads, bodies, plates, or manual regions. Choose the style that gives the required privacy coverage and appearance.
| Style | What it does | Important behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Gaussian | Applies a smooth, natural-looking blur. | Intensity controls blur strength. |
| Mosaic | Applies a block-style pixelated redaction. | Intensity controls pixelation strength. |
| Solid Shape | Covers the region with an opaque shape. | It conceals the protected area rather than blurring it. |
| Overlay Image | Applies a bundled full-face overlay or compatible accessory layers. | Overlay artwork uses its own alpha edge; Edge Feather does not apply. |
Live Background Blur is different: it keeps a person sharp and softens the surrounding scene in Live Camera mode. See How to Blur Your Webcam Background for setup and the Standard/Pro source matrix.
Edge Feather
Edge Feather controls how softly a redaction meets the surrounding image.
- Range: 0–40%
- Default: 8%
- 0% produces a hard boundary; higher values make the outer transition softer.
- The percentage is measured against the shorter dimension of the redaction region.
- It applies to Gaussian, Mosaic, and Solid Shape, including automatic and manual regions.
- The transition expands only outside the protected region. The original protected core remains fully redacted, so increasing Edge Feather does not reveal pixels inside it.
- It is disabled for Overlay Image because the artwork keeps its own alpha edge.
Edge Feather and Padding solve different problems. Padding enlarges the fully protected core around a detection. Edge Feather softens only the transition outside that core. If hair, ears, motion, or other sensitive pixels are not fully covered, increase Padding first.
Change the effect
- Load your image or video.
- In Blur Configuration → Blur Style, select Gaussian, Mosaic, Solid Shape, or Overlay Image.
- Adjust Intensity where relevant and set Edge Feather for Gaussian, Mosaic, or Solid Shape.
- For a selected image, wait for the automatic preview to update. For a video, move the playhead and click Single-frame preview again.
- Compare source and result, then review the complete saved output before sharing it.
Tips
- Start from the built-in preset values and test representative difficult frames before increasing visual strength.
- A softer edge improves appearance, but it does not fix a missed detection or an undersized protected core.
- Solid Shape is an opaque treatment inside each correctly placed region. It does not protect a missed person or an incomplete region, so review the full result.
- Overlay Image is a visual treatment, not a guarantee of anonymity. Check every face, frame, and scene change before sharing the output.