How to remove an image background on a Mac

To remove an image's background on a Mac, open it in Preview and click the Remove Background button, which Apple's Preview guide describes from macOS Tahoe 26 onward. You can also Control-click an image file in the Finder and use the Remove Background quick action, copy just the subject of a photo in Photos, or remove the background of a picture on a slide in Keynote. Preview, the Finder and Photos come with macOS, so there is nothing to install. To keep the result transparent, save it as a PNG.

Preview: one click on macOS Tahoe 26 and later

1. Open the image in the Preview app.
2. Click the Remove Background button.
3. If Preview asks whether you want to convert the document to a PNG file, choose one:
   • Click Convert to convert the original image.
   • Click Cancel, then choose File > Duplicate to make a copy first and keep the original as it is.

To undo the background removal, choose Edit > Undo. Preview's help lists the same steps for macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS 27.

Preview can also extract part of an image. Open the Markup toolbar, choose the Smart Lasso from the Selection Tools menu, trace the edge of what you want and connect the border back to its start. Then choose Edit > Copy and paste it into a document.

Preview on macOS Sequoia and earlier: Instant Alpha

Before Tahoe, Apple's Preview guide describes a manual tool instead:

1. Open the image in Preview and click the Show Markup Toolbar button if the toolbar isn't showing.
2. Click the Instant Alpha button.
3. Drag over part of the background. Preview selects that area and any adjacent pixels of the same colors.
4. Press Delete to remove the selection. To keep only the selected area instead, choose Edit > Invert Selection, then press Delete.
5. Repeat until only the subject is left.

Instant Alpha works by color, so it suits a plain or evenly lit background, such as a product on white. Busy scenes and hair take many passes.

Finder: the Remove Background quick action

You can remove a background without opening an app at all:

1. In a Finder window or on the desktop, Control-click the image file.
2. Choose Quick Actions, click More, then choose Remove Background.

The same actions appear as buttons at the bottom of the Finder's Preview pane; choose View > Show Preview if you don't see the pane. If Remove Background isn't offered, click More, then Customize, and turn it on in Extensions settings.

Photos, Safari and Quick Look: Copy Subject

To use a subject in another document without making a file first:

1. Open a photo in the Photos app and Control-click it.
2. Choose Copy Subject to copy just the subject with the background removed, or Share Subject to send it in a message, email and more.
3. Paste the subject into a document, email, message or note.

Apple notes the same feature works in Safari, Quick Look, Mail and other apps.

Keynote: remove a background on a slide

1. Click the image on the slide to select it.
2. Click the Image tab at the top of the Format sidebar, then click Remove Background. If possible, Keynote removes the background automatically.
3. To remove another color, drag slowly over it; the selection grows to include similar colors. Option-drag removes a color everywhere in the image, and Shift-drag adds colors back.
4. Click Done. The Reset button in the controls undoes all changes.

Save a PNG that keeps the transparency

A removed background only stays transparent in a format that can store it. In Preview, choose File > Export, open the Format pop-up menu and choose PNG, then name the file and click Save. JPEG has no transparency, so a cutout exported as JPEG gets a solid background again; what a transparent background is explains which formats keep it.

To convert several images at once, open them in one Preview window, select them in the sidebar, then use File > Export.

If you used the remove.bg desktop app

remove.bg's standalone website is no longer available from December 1, 2026, and its FAQ points desktop-app users to Canva's bulk background removal. For single images, the Mac tools above may be all you need. For batches, the bulk background remover runs in Safari or any other browser, takes up to 50 images and downloads them as a ZIP. Our remove.bg checklist lists what else ends that day, from credits to API code.

When the built-in tools aren't enough

Apple's tools give you one automatic result, with little control over the edge. For hair, fur or a subject that blends into its surroundings, the background remover on this site keeps soft, partly transparent edges, lets you compare before and after with a slider, and has erase and restore brushes. A preview PNG up to 0.25 megapixels is free without signup or a watermark; larger Max downloads use one credit. It also puts the cutout on a new color or photo if you need a background rather than transparency.

On an iPhone, the same subject lifting works in Photos; the iPhone guide covers it.