How to make an image transparent

The short answer

A clear background

The subject stays solid and everything around it disappears, so it can sit on any color or photo without a box around it. This is what most people mean, and for anything on a white background, Remove White Background does it in one step.

A see-through picture

The whole picture fades, so whatever it is placed on shows through it. Set its opacity in Overlay Images.

Either way, save it as a PNG. The JPG format cannot store transparency, so a transparent image saved as a JPG comes back solid.

Making a background transparent

The easy case is also the most common one: a logo, a product shot, a screenshot or a signature on a plain white background.

1. Drop the image into Remove White Background.
2. Check the edges. If a thin gray line is left around the subject, raise the tolerance, which widens how far from pure white still counts as background.
3. Check any white inside the subject, like the middle of a letter O or a ring. The cleanup setting decides whether enclosed white is cleared.
4. Download it as a PNG.

It works by clearing near-white pixels that connect to the edges of the picture. That is why it leaves white inside the subject alone, like the whites of someone’s eyes or white text on a label, and also why it only works on white or very light backgrounds.

If you want a transparent area in a particular shape rather than around an existing subject, crop to it instead. Circle Crop and Crop to a Shape make everything outside the circle, star or hexagon transparent.

Photos of people and busy backgrounds

A person in a room or on a street has no white background to clear, so the white remover is the wrong tool. Separating a subject from a real scene needs software that recognizes what the subject is.

For people, the Background Remover does it with an AI model that runs in your browser, so the photo is never uploaded. Keep the result transparent, then send it straight into Overlay Images to place it on another picture.

It is made for people, and a pet on a sofa or a car on a street is not its strength. For those, a recent iPhone does it in the Photos app: touch and hold the subject until a glowing outline appears, then copy or share it.

Making a whole picture see-through

For a faded watermark, a texture to lay over a photo, or a picture that should sit quietly behind text, lower its opacity instead.

1. Open Overlay Images and add the picture.
2. Drag its opacity slider down. At 100% it is solid; at 50% every pixel is half transparent.
3. Download it as a PNG, which keeps that partial transparency.

To place the faded picture over another photo in the same step, add the photo first and the picture second, then fade only the picture on top.

Which file formats keep transparency

PNG is the safe default because everything opens it. For the full comparison, see PNG vs JPG, and for logos specifically, logo file types.

Why a transparent image turns white again

When transparency disappears it is almost always because the file became a JPG somewhere, often without anyone choosing to.

It was saved as a JPG

Check the extension. A JPG cannot be transparent, so the transparent areas were filled, usually with white.

A website converted it

Many upload forms and social platforms turn every image into a JPG to save space, so the PNG you uploaded is not the file people see. If the transparency matters, check what the site does with PNGs before relying on it.

It was never transparent

A logo downloaded from a website often looks transparent on the page but has a white background baked in. Place it over a dark color to find out, and clear it if it needs clearing.

A viewer is showing a background

Some image viewers display transparent areas as white or black. The file is fine; the preview is not showing you the transparency.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make the background of an image transparent?

If the background is plain white, a white background remover clears it in one step: it removes the white connected to the edges of the picture and leaves the subject alone. Save the result as a PNG, because a JPG cannot hold transparency and will put the white straight back.

How do I make a logo transparent?

Most logos arrive on a white background, which is the easiest case there is. Run the logo through a white background remover, raise the tolerance if a faint gray edge is left around it, and download it as a PNG. If the logo has white inside it, such as the middle of an O, the cleanup setting decides whether that white is cleared too.

Can a JPG have a transparent background?

No. The JPG format has no way to store transparency at all, so every pixel is solid, and anything that was transparent is filled in, usually with white, the moment it is saved as a JPG. Use PNG or WebP instead, which both keep transparency.

Why does my transparent PNG show a black or white background?

Transparency itself has no color, so each program chooses what to show behind it. Many image viewers show white or black, and editors show a gray checkerboard. The file is still transparent; place it over something colorful to check. If it stays white once it is placed, it was saved as a JPG or converted to one somewhere along the way.

How do I make a picture see-through?

Lower its opacity. In an overlay tool, add the picture, drag its opacity slider down, and download it as a PNG. At 50% every pixel is half transparent, so whatever it is later placed on shows through it evenly.

Can I remove the background from a photo of a person?

Yes, with a background remover built for it rather than a white background remover, which only clears near-white areas and cannot tell a person from the room behind them. The background remover on this site finds the person with an AI model that runs in your browser, so the photo is never uploaded, and can leave the background transparent, white, a color of your choice, or blurred.