How to Edit Photos Online Like Photoshop (Free)
A Photoshop-style editor in your browser: layers, selections, healing, clone stamp, brushes, text and filters — what it can do, and essential shortcuts.
3 min read ·
For edits that go beyond one-click tools — removing an object, combining photos, retouching a portrait, painting a mask — open the Photo Editor. It's a Photoshop-style editor that runs in your browser: a menu bar, a tools panel, layers, history, selections, healing and clone tools, brushes, shapes and text. Nothing is installed, and your images aren't uploaded.
What's in the editor
Tools panel
- Selection: move, rectangular and elliptical marquee, the lasso family, magic wand, quick selection and object selection.
- Retouching: spot healing brush, healing brush, patch, red-eye, clone stamp and content-aware move.
- Painting: brush, pencil, colour replacement, gradient, paint bucket and erasers.
- Focus and tone: blur, sharpen, smudge, dodge, burn and sponge.
- Vector and type: pen tools, shapes (rectangle, ellipse, line, polygon, custom) and horizontal and vertical type.
- Navigation: crop, slice, eyedropper, colour sampler, ruler, hand, rotate view and zoom.
Panels: Layers, History, Info, Paths, Properties, Character, Paragraph, Channels, Color, Swatches, Brush and Navigator.
Essential shortcuts
| Key | Tool or action |
|---|---|
| V | Move |
| B | Brush |
| E | Eraser |
| T | Type |
| Z | Zoom |
| [ and ] | Smaller / larger brush |
| Q | Quick mask |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
If you've used Photoshop, most habits carry over.
Common edits, step by step
Remove a small object or blemish
- Duplicate the photo layer so the original stays untouched.
- Choose the spot healing brush, set a size slightly larger than the blemish, and click or paint over it.
- For larger objects with repeating backgrounds (sky, grass, sand), use the clone stamp: Alt-click a clean area to sample it, then paint over the object.
Combine two photos
- Open the first photo, then place the second as a new layer.
- Use a selection tool or a layer mask to show only the part you want.
- Adjust size and position with the move tool, and blend the edges with a soft brush on the mask.
Retouch a portrait gently
- Remove spots with the spot healing brush — skin texture should remain.
- Brighten the eyes slightly with dodge at low exposure.
- Avoid over-smoothing: real skin has pores.
When a simpler tool is faster
The editor can do almost anything, but for common jobs a dedicated tool is quicker:
- Remove a background: Background Remover — automatic.
- Add a caption or title: Add Text to Image.
- Apply a look: Photo Filters.
- Crop to a size: Image Cropper.
Use the editor when you need layers, precise selections or retouching.
Working habits that save edits
- Work non-destructively: duplicate layers and use masks instead of erasing, so you can always go back.
- Use the History panel to step back through your changes.
- Zoom in for detailed work, and zoom out to judge the whole picture.
- Save often while you work on complex edits.
Ethics of photo editing
Retouching your own photos for social media or a portfolio is everyday practice. Altering photos used as evidence, for official documents, in news, or of other people without consent is not — passport and ID photos in particular must not be edited to change your appearance.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes — no account, no watermark.
Are my images uploaded?
No. The editor runs entirely in your browser.
Does it work on a tablet?
It works best with a mouse and keyboard on a computer. Tablets work for simpler edits; the many panels are cramped on phones.