Thumbnail background remover
Cut yourself out of any photo for a YouTube thumbnail. The person mode sends your photo to an AI model over Vercel AI Gateway; the flat/green-screen mode runs fully on your device.
Choose a photo to begin. A well-lit shot against any background works.
How AI background removal actually works
Background removal is a segmentation problem: label every pixel as subject or not. For the person mode, ThumbCraft sends your photo through Vercel AI Gateway to an image-editing model, which repaints the picture, keeping the subject and making everything else transparent. This is more capable than an on-device model but does mean the photo leaves your device for that one request.
The flat / green-screen mode works differently and stays local: it compares every pixel's colour to the background colour picked from the corners. The step-through above shows the two decisions that turn that comparison into a cut-out: a threshold (how close must a pixel be to count as background?) and a feather (how wide is the soft transition at the edge?). Thumbnail designers usually add a thick white or yellow outline afterwards. It separates the subject from a busy background and hides any rough edges.
Tips for a clean cut-out
- Shoot against a background that differs in colour and brightness from your clothes and hair.
- Side or front light beats a bright window behind you, which blurs the edge of your silhouette.
- Keep your whole head in frame; cropped heads make the model guess.
Questions
Is this background remover free?
The flat / green-screen mode is free with no limit, because it runs entirely on your device. The person cut-out uses an AI model through Vercel AI Gateway, so it is rate-limited per visitor to keep the service free for everyone.
Is my photo uploaded?
For the person cut-out, yes: your photo is sent to Vercel AI Gateway, which forwards it to the image model to produce the transparent cut-out, then the result is sent back to your browser. It is not stored by ThumbCraft. The flat / green-screen mode never leaves your device.
Why does the person cut-out sometimes redraw fine detail?
The model repaints the photo rather than masking it pixel-for-pixel, so it can occasionally smooth very fine flyaway hair or tiny background objects. For thumbnails that is usually invisible at feed size, and the white outline hides any remaining softness.
Can it remove the background from a product or logo?
Yes for a plain or green background: use the "Flat / green background" mode, which removes pixels close to the corner colour, entirely on your device. The person mode is tuned for people and general subjects.
What format do I get?
A transparent PNG. You can also send it straight to the thumbnail maker with a white outline already applied.