How to Remove Image Backgrounds in Your Browser

February 24, 2026

Removing a background from an image used to mean either firing up Photoshop or uploading your photo to a website that processes it on their servers. Neither option is great. Photoshop requires a subscription and skill with selection tools. Online services handle your images on remote machines, which raises privacy questions, especially for photos of people, confidential product shots, or anything you would rather keep to yourself.

There is now a third option: AI-powered background removal that runs entirely in your browser.

How Browser-Based Background Removal Works

ArmorPDF’s Remove Background tool uses a machine learning model called ORMBG that runs directly in your web browser using WebAssembly. When you upload an image, the model analyzes it locally on your device, identifies the foreground subject, and generates a transparency mask. Your image never leaves your computer.

The first time you use the tool, the AI model (about 44 MB) downloads to your browser cache. After that, subsequent uses load much faster since the model is already cached. The actual inference, identifying what is foreground and what is background, takes a few seconds depending on your device.

When to Use Background Removal

Product photography is one of the most common use cases. If you are selling items online, you often need a clean white background or a transparent cutout. Instead of carefully selecting around every edge in an image editor, the AI handles it in seconds.

Profile photos are another frequent need. Whether you want a solid color behind a headshot for LinkedIn, a presentation, or an ID badge, removing the existing background is the first step. The privacy benefit matters here since portrait photos are personal data.

Social media content, graphic design, and collage-making all benefit from quick background removal. Designers regularly extract subjects from photos for compositing, and the faster that step is, the better the workflow.

Step-by-Step: Removing a Background with ArmorPDF

  1. Open the Remove Background tool in your browser.
  2. Drop your image into the upload area or click to select a file. JPG, PNG, and WebP formats are supported.
  3. Click “Remove Background.” If this is your first visit, the AI model will download first (this takes a moment but only happens once).
  4. The tool processes the image and shows a before-and-after comparison.
  5. Use the color picker to preview different background colors: transparent, white, black, or a custom color.
  6. Download the result as a PNG file with transparency preserved.

Why Privacy Matters for Image Processing

Most online background removal tools upload your image to a server where a GPU processes it. Your photo passes through their infrastructure, gets stored at least temporarily, and you have to trust their privacy policy. For casual use this may be fine, but for photos of people, proprietary content, or sensitive material, it is a real concern.

With browser-based processing, the question disappears entirely. The image data stays in your browser’s memory, the AI model runs on your CPU via WebAssembly, and nothing is transmitted over the network. When you close the tab, the data is gone.

Tips for Best Results

The AI model works best with clear subjects that have distinct edges. Portraits, product photos, animals, and objects against relatively simple backgrounds produce excellent results. Complex scenes with overlapping elements or subjects that blend into the background may need some additional editing.

Image size matters for speed. A typical smartphone photo (3000-4000 pixels wide) processes in a few seconds on a modern computer. Very large images take longer because the computation runs on your CPU rather than a dedicated GPU.

For the best quality output, start with a high-resolution source image. The tool outputs PNG files, which preserve full quality and transparency. If you need a smaller file size for web use, you can convert the PNG to WebP afterward.

Remove Your Image Background Now

Background removal should not require expensive software or trusting a third-party server with your photos. ArmorPDF’s Remove Background tool handles it entirely in your browser using AI, giving you clean cutouts in seconds with full privacy. No signup, no uploads, no hassle.

Try Remove Background Now