Frequently asked questions

No. Face detection, cropping, background replacement and the compliance checks all run inside your browser. The photo never leaves your device, and nothing is stored after you close the tab.

Yes. You can make and download as many photos and print sheets as you like.

JPG, PNG and WebP work in every browser. iPhone HEIC photos do not open in every browser — if yours is not accepted, export or share it as JPG first.

The first run downloads the face-detection and background models (about 20 MB). They are cached, so later photos are processed in a second or two.

Use a sharp, front-facing photo where the whole head and shoulders are visible and the face is well lit. Very dark photos, side profiles, and photos where the face is tiny in the frame are not detected.

Tall or very light hair against a light wall can be misjudged. Use the “Hair top ↑ / ↓” buttons under the photo to nudge the line; the crop and the head-size check update immediately.

The tool enforces everything that can be measured — size, head height, eye position, centring, pose, exposure, background and sharpness — and lists the few rules you need to check by eye, such as glasses glare. The issuing authority always has the final say.

2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm), in colour, on a plain white background. The head must measure 1 to 1⅜ inch (25–35 mm) from the top of the hair to the chin, with the eyes 1⅛ to 1⅜ inch above the bottom edge.

Keep a natural, neutral expression with your mouth closed. A slight, closed-mouth smile is usually tolerated, but an open smile showing teeth is a common reason for rejection.

For India, clear glasses are allowed if the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tinted lenses. The United States does not allow glasses at all. When in doubt, take them off.

Only for religious reasons, and the full face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, and both edges of the face, must be clearly visible.

A plain, coloured top — medium blue, navy, maroon or green all work well. Avoid pure white (it merges with the background), and avoid busy patterns and textures.

Tick “Child under 10”. Head-size, eye-position and expression rules are relaxed for children, and babies under one do not need their eyes open. The child must be alone in the frame — no hands, toys or chair backs.

The rule is a plain, evenly lit background with no shadows; cleaning up the background does not alter how you look. Do not retouch your face, skin or features — the tool never does. If you prefer an untouched photo, switch background replacement off and the tool will check your real background instead.

Retake the photo against a plain, light wall with your hair tidy. The closer the real background is to the required colour, the cleaner the edge. Dark, busy backgrounds behind loose hair are the hardest case.

No. Passport rules forbid retouching. The photo is only rotated, cropped and scaled; the background is the only thing that can change.

Download the 4 × 6 sheet and print it on 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) photo paper at 100% / actual size — at home or at any photo kiosk or lab. Then cut along the grey lines. The files carry 600 dpi so they print at the true size.

The printer scaled it. Turn off “fit to page”, “fill page” and “borderless expansion”, and choose 100% or “actual size”. Measure the printed photo with a ruler before cutting the rest.

Thin photo paper, matte or glossy. Plain office paper is not accepted. Inkjet, laser or dye-sub prints are all fine as long as no dots or pixels are visible.

Online application forms usually ask for a small square JPG — 600 × 600 px and under 240 KB is accepted by the US and most Indian portals. Use the full-size file or the sheet for printing.