How to Remove Background From Photos in iOS 16 on iPhone

There are a lot of tools available on the internet right now to remove background from photos, but they have a process involved. You either had to download their apps on your phone or upload photos on their website. Since these are third-party applications, your data might get compromised at some point. In between all these risks and vulnerabilities, Apple came up with iOS 16.

This new feature of iOS 16 is game-changing. Once iOS 16 is installed on your iPhone, you can remove the background from photos without any third-party tool. Isn’t it cool! In this guide, we will take you through the different methods to remove background from photos in iOS 16 on iPhone. Before we proceed with the methods, let’s quickly have a look at the iPhone variants that support the “Background Remove” feature in iOS 16.

> Devices Compatible with Background Remove Feature in iOS 16

Usually, when a new version of any OS is launched, all its features are by default supported by compatible devices. However, at Apple, things are a bit different. There are a few iOS16 compatible devices that don’t support the Background Remove Feature of iOS 16.

Here is a list of devices that supports iOS 16 as well as its Background Remove feature:

• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE 2nd-generation
• iPhone SE 3rd-generation

If your device name is not listed here, unfortunately, these methods won’t work for you. However, we have a separate section for you, skip these three methods and you will reach the appropriate method that will work like charm for you.

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Method #1: Remove Background From Photos using Photos App.

Follow the steps below to remove the background from your photos using the iPhone Photos App:

Step 1: Launch Photos App.

Step 2: Select your desired photo, in which you want to remove the background.

Step 3: Press and Hold for 1 second on the main subject of the Photo.

Step 4: You will see a  white line glowing around the subject, along with two options, Copy and Share. As per your requirements, you can either directly Copy the photo without background or can share it across multiple Apps.

Method #2: Remove Background From Images While Browsing from Safari

You can remove background of images even while browsing them. Currently, this functionality of iOS 16 only works with their native web browser i.e., Safari. Using this feature, you can create stickers/memes out of web images in just 2 additional clicks. The best part is, in order to remove the background, you don’t even need to download the image. You can remove the background right on the Safari web browser and directly copy the main subject (without background). Follow the steps below to remove background from web images:

Step 1: Open the image from which you want to copy the subject or remove the background on safari.

Step 2: Hold and Long Press on the image and wait until you see a pop-up menu.

Step 3: In the list of options, you will see a “Copy Subject”, click on it.

That’s it! You have successfully removed the background from the image without downloading it or saving it in your Photos. Now, you can use the image and paste it anywhere you want to use it.

Method #3: Remove Background From Photos using Files App.

If you have some of your images saved in your iPhone Files, you can follow the below-mentioned steps to remove background from photos. In this method also, you won’t be required to export those images in your photos or to some other application.

Step 1: Open the files App and navigate to the desired Photo.

Step 2: Long press on the image and wait for the pop-up menu.

Step 3: Click on “Quick Action”, a new list menu will appear.

Step 4: Click on the “Remove Background” option.

That it! The background of the image will be removed and saved in the original location in Files.

> How to Remove Background From Photos on iOS 16 iPhones with unsupported “Background Remove” Feature

As mentioned above, you are running on iOS 16 but your iPhone doesn’t support the background removal feature or you are using an iPhone that doesn’t support iOS 16. In this section, we will introduce you to a tool that removes background from photos perfectly and instantly without compromising your data. Since the built-in feature is not supported or not present, you have to use a third-party tool, in this case, this tool is completely safe and secure.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to remove background from photos on iOS 16 running on an unsupported iPhone.

Step 1: Open your favorite browser on your iPhone.

Step 2: Visit the Url “remove.bg”.

Step 3: On the home page, you will see a button “Upload Image”. Click on it and upload your desired photo. You can upload an image from your Photos App, or Files App or capture an instant photo.

Step 4: After uploading, wait for a second or so and your photo without a background will be visible to you, along with the download option.

You can also edit and customize the background as per your requirements, there are more than a dozen of default background options available. You can use the same website on your PC, Android, or any other browser-supported device to remove the background from images instantly.

> Conclusion

Since the background removal feature is recently introduced for iPhones, it needs a lot of improvements. The feature is good but not perfect yet. We hope, it gets better soon. For basic simple photos, you can remove the background precisely. However, when it comes to complex background photos, you might see some imperfections. In that case, you can use the remove background tools. However, we feel that it won’t be required for day-to-day tasks. Do let us know in the comments below, in case you have some suggestions for us.

Last update on 2026-01-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API