AI photo tools can remove distracting objects, clean up backgrounds, and improve lighting without a full photo editor. Apple Photos and Google Photos both include tools that let you select part of an image and let AI fill in the background.
Does this affect you?
Use this for iPhone and Android photo editing. Apple Clean Up requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, such as iPhone 15 Pro or newer supported models, on iOS 18.1 or later. Google Photos works more broadly on Android and iPhone, though some features require a Pixel phone or Google One plan.
Remove objects with Clean Up on iPhone
Clean Up is built into Photos on supported iPhones.
- Open Photos and choose the image.
- Tap Edit.
- Tap the Clean Up icon, usually shown as a sparkle over a small circle.
- Tap the object you want removed, or drag over it with your finger to select manually.
- Tap the checkmark to apply the change.
- If the result looks wrong, undo it and try a tighter or looser selection.
- Tap Done to save the edit.
Remove objects and enhance photos with Google Photos
Magic Eraser works from inside Google Photos.
- Open Google Photos and select a picture.
- Tap Edit.
- Open Tools and choose Magic Eraser.
- Tap a suggested object or circle the area you want removed.
- Confirm the removal.
- Use Enhance or Auto for general lighting, color, and sharpness improvements.
- Tap Save copy to keep the edited image separate from the original.
More control
Originals are usually preserved
On iPhone, you can return to the edit screen and choose Revert to Original. In Google Photos, Save copy keeps a separate edited file.
Simple backgrounds work best
Removing an object from sky, grass, water, or a plain wall usually looks cleaner than removing one from a crowd, patterned fabric, text, or detailed architecture. Zoom in before sharing.
AI cannot recover detail that was never captured
Enhance tools can improve lighting and apparent sharpness, but they do not truly fix a badly out-of-focus photo or recreate reliable detail from nothing.
Sensitive photos deserve caution
Some Google Photos AI edits may process in the cloud, while some Apple features run on device or through Apple’s private cloud systems depending on the feature. Check app and backup settings before editing sensitive images.
Sources
- Apple Support – Use Clean Up in Photos on iPhone (2025)
- Google Help – Edit photos with Magic Eraser (2026)
- Google Help – Enhance photos with AI in Google Photos (2026)