Image Pixelate

About Image Pixelate

Image Pixelate turns a picture into a mosaic of flat square blocks. You set the block size from 2 to 64 pixels and the effect updates as you drag. It is used for retro pixel-art looks, for censoring parts of casual screenshots, and for creating tiny previews that hint at an image without revealing it.

How to use it

1. Drop an image onto the upload area. It is pixelated at the default block size of 10 pixels straight away.
2. Drag the Block size slider between 2 and 64 and watch the Result preview change.
3. Press Download to save the mosaic as a PNG the same size as your original.

Grid size from block size

A 1200 x 800 image with Block size 20

The picture is reduced to a 60 x 40 grid, then enlarged back to 1200 x 800 without smoothing, giving 2,400 sharp-edged squares, each 20 pixels wide.

When to use it

• Creating a retro 8-bit look for a game poster or profile image.
• Masking a face or a name tag in a casual photo before sharing it.
• Producing a blurry-but-colorful placeholder preview of an image.
• Teaching or demonstrating how resolution affects how much detail an image holds.

Questions about Image Pixelate

How is the mosaic actually made?

The image is first drawn very small on a hidden canvas, at width and height divided by the block size, then stretched back up with smoothing turned off. The browser's shrink step averages nearby colors, and the stretch step keeps them as hard squares.

Is pixelation safe for hiding text or faces?

Only at large block sizes. Mild pixelation can be reconstructed or guessed, particularly for text and short numbers. For anything sensitive, use a big block size or cover the area with a solid shape.

Why are some blocks at the edge slightly different?

The tiny canvas uses whole numbers, so the width is rounded down before it is stretched back. When the image size is not a multiple of the block size, the last row and column can be a little wider or narrower.

Does it change the image dimensions?

No. The downloaded PNG has exactly the same width and height as the source. Only the level of detail is lowered.

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