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Restore old photos free: scratches out, color in

Upload a faded, scratched or black-and-white photo. The AI removes the damage, fixes the fading and adds natural color, while every face stays exactly as it was.

  • 3 free a day
  • No watermark
  • Private to you

Before and after

Three restores made with this tool. Drag the slider on each photo to compare. The originals are sample portraits with simulated damage.

  • The same photo restored in color, scratches removedScratched black-and-white photo of an older man in glasses on a park benchBeforeAfter

    Black and white, scratched

    Scratches and dust gone, natural color added, glasses and smile kept.

  • The same portrait restored in color with the crease removedSepia portrait of a woman with a bob, a crease running down the printBeforeAfter

    Sepia with a crease

    The fold line and the yellow cast removed, the portrait in full color.

  • The same photo with its colors restoredFaded, yellowed color photo of two laughing friends in a cafeBeforeAfter

    Faded color print

    Washed-out colors brought back; both faces stay the same.

How to restore an old photo

  1. Sign in

    Sign in with Google. Each account gets 3 free restores a day, and only you can see your photos.

  2. Upload the old photo

    A scan or a phone photo of the print. JPG, PNG, WebP and iPhone HEIC all work.

  3. Wait about 2 minutes

    The AI cleans, sharpens and colorizes the photo. The result appears on this page on its own.

  4. Compare and download

    Drag the slider to see before and after, then download the full image with no watermark.

What the photo restorer fixes

One pass handles the usual damage of an old print:

  • Scratches, dust and creases

    Cracks, spots and fold lines disappear.

  • Stains and spots

    Water marks, mould spots and stains are cleaned away.

  • Fading and color casts

    Yellowed and sepia prints get their contrast back.

  • Grain and blur

    Film grain is smoothed and the photo gently sharpened.

  • Black-and-white photos

    Natural, muted colors for skin, hair, clothes and the background.

  • Faces kept as they are

    Faces, pose and composition are kept, not beautified; compare with the slider.

Getting a good scan

The better the copy, the better the restore. Use a flatbed scanner at 600 dpi if you have one. With a phone, lay the print flat in soft daylight, hold the phone straight above it, turn the flash off and avoid glare from glass or glossy paper. Crop away the table around the print before you upload.

Bring the restored photo to life

Once a photo is restored, press Make it move to animate old photos with the Bring to Life effect: the person blinks, smiles and glances to the side. Browse more AI video effects made from one photo.

Restore old photos: questions

Yes. Each signed-in account can restore 3 photos a day for free, with no watermark on the download. A restore that fails does not count. When the day's free restores for the whole site are used up, come back the next day (the count resets at midnight UTC).
They are the AI's best guess. It picks natural, period-appropriate colors and keeps grey or white hair grey or white, but it cannot know the real color of a dress or a car. If you know the true colors, treat the result as a starting point.
The restore is told to keep every face, age, expression, pose, hairstyle and the whole composition exactly as they are, and not to add, remove or beautify anything. Very damaged or tiny faces can still come out slightly different, so compare with the slider before you share.
Only you. The original and the restored photo are stored privately and are shown only to your signed-in account. They are never public.
Usually about 2 minutes. Keep the page open and the result appears on its own.
Only photos you have the right to use: your own and your family's, or with the permission of the people in them or their family.
Yes. Press Make it move and the restored photo opens in the studio with the Bring to Life effect, where the person smiles and glances aside. That video is paid with credits.