About the Magic Wand Tool
The magic wand selects by colour. Tap a pixel and the tool selects every pixel of a similar colour that touches it, or, if you prefer, every similar pixel in the whole picture. The tolerance slider decides how different a colour may be and still be included. Then keep the selection and make everything else transparent, or remove the selection, which is the quickest way to delete a plain background. Add a soft edge, crop the result and save a PNG with real transparency. It works best on pictures with flat colours, such as logos, drawings and products on plain backgrounds. Nothing is uploaded.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Magic Wand Tool
- 1Select an image or drop one on the page.
- 2Set the tolerance and choose Connected area or Same colour everywhere.
- 3Tap the colour you want to select. The selection shows in pink.
- 4Choose Remove the selection to delete it, or Keep the selection to keep only it.
- 5Press Cut out the selection and Download PNG.
How the wand decides
When you tap a pixel, the tool compares its red, green, blue and transparency values with those of the neighbouring pixels. A neighbour is included if none of the four values differs by more than the tolerance. The search then continues from each included pixel until no more neighbours qualify. The result is the area of similar colour around your tap.
Choosing a tolerance
A tolerance near 0 selects only exactly equal colours, which suits flat logos. Around 30 to 50 suits drawings and scans with slight shading. Above 100 you start to include different colours. If an area is only partly selected, raise the tolerance a little and tap again.
- Flat logo: 0 to 15
- Cartoon or drawing: 20 to 50
- Smooth studio backdrop: 30 to 70
- Photo sky: 40 to 90, check the edges
Removing a background
For a product on a plain backdrop, tap the backdrop, choose Remove the selection and cut out. Tap again on any leftover patch and repeat. The result is a transparent PNG you can place on any colour. Keeping the selection does the opposite and is useful when the object itself has a uniform colour.
A quick example
Take a logo on a white square. Tap the white, set the tolerance to 25, choose Remove the selection, add a soft edge of 1 pixel and cut it out. The white is gone and the logo is on a transparent background, ready for a website header.
Phone and computer
On a phone, tap the colour with one finger; change the tolerance first, since it clears the selection. On a computer, click. Pictures up to about 16 million pixels are supported.
Good to know
Changing the tolerance or the selection mode clears the current selection, so tap again afterwards. Semi-transparent pixels in the original are compared as they are. For one-click colour removal across a whole batch, use Make Background Transparent. For a free-hand outline, the Lasso Tool is better, and the Paint Bucket Tool fills the chosen area with a new colour.
Features
- Selection by colour
- Tolerance slider
- Connected area or whole picture
- Keep or remove the selection
- Soft edge and crop to selection
- Transparent PNG output
Frequently asked questions
What does tolerance do?
It sets how different a colour can be from the one you tapped and still be selected. A low value selects only nearly identical colours, and a high value selects a wider range of shades.
How do I remove a plain background?
Tap the background, choose Remove the selection and cut it out. Raise the tolerance if shading leaves bits behind, and lower it if the object starts to disappear.
What is the difference between Connected area and Same colour everywhere?
Connected area selects only pixels that touch the one you tapped. Same colour everywhere also selects separate areas of the same colour, such as the inside of the letter O.
Why is the edge of my object rough?
Edges of pictures are blended with their surroundings. A soft edge of 1 or 2 pixels hides most roughness, and a slightly higher tolerance catches the blended pixels.
Does it work on photos?
Photos have many shades, so selections can be patchy. It works well on skies, plain walls and studio backgrounds, and poorly on textured areas.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser.