Magic Eraser won't remove your ex? What to try next

Magic Eraser is good at small things in the background. When it leaves a smudge, a ghost outline or half an arm where your ex was, it's usually because they're big in the frame, touching you, or not fully selected. Try the free fixes below first, then the other free tools on your phone. Pay for something only if none of them work.

Before

After AI-edited

Why Magic Eraser struggles with the person next to you

You mark the person, and Magic Eraser fills the space from what's around them. A stranger at the edge of the frame leaves a small hole with plenty of background nearby to copy. An ex standing beside you, with an arm around your shoulders, leaves a big hole that cuts into you, so the app has to invent part of the background and the edge of your arm or hair. That's where the smears come from.

Free fixes to try in Google Photos

• Select all of them. Google's help says you can tap, circle or brush the area, and use Refine selection to add to or subtract from what's selected. Include the hand on your shoulder, their shadow and any reflection.
• Save a copy. Use Save as copy so the original stays untouched if you want to try again or use another tool.
• Crop if they're at the edge. If your ex is on one side of the photo, cropping them out often looks better than erasing. Here's how to cut someone out of a picture.
• Try typing the edit. Google Photos also has Ask Photos, where you type what you want changed. Google's help gives examples like "remove distractions from the background". It needs a personal Google account, you must be 18 or older, and it's only rolling out in some countries, so you may not have it yet.
• Try Magic Editor for bigger edits. Google describes Magic Editor as its tool for more complex edits. Which features you get depends on your phone.

Other free tools on your phone

• iPhone Clean Up: in Photos, open the photo, tap Edit, then Tools, then Clean Up, and tap, brush or circle the person. Apple lets you choose the processing type, so pick High Quality for a hard photo. Clean Up needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, and Apple says usage limits may apply. Steps.
• Samsung Object Eraser: in the Gallery app on Galaxy phones that have it. Steps.
• A volunteer editor: people on r/PhotoshopRequest edit photos by hand, often for free or a small tip. Posts there are public, so think about who will see the photo before you upload it.

When a paid tool is worth it

If the free tools still leave a mess, it's usually one of two cases: your ex is overlapping you, or you have a whole album to fix. That's what Remove Your Ex is for. You describe who should go, like "the man in the grey hoodie on the left", instead of brushing around them, and you can upload up to 10 photos per batch.

Each photo costs 1 credit, including a free second edit if the first isn't right, and failed edits return the credit automatically. Current prices are on the pricing page. There's no free preview, so try the free tools first.

It has limits too. Arms around shoulders and heads touching are the hardest case for any tool, this one included. Edits come back at 1K resolution, which suits phones and social posts more than large prints. You need to be 18 or older, and it isn't available in the EU/EEA, the UK, or Switzerland yet.

For a side-by-side of the paid options, see Remove Your Ex vs ExEraser vs removepeople.ai.

Sources: Google Photos Help, Edit your photos; Google, "AI editing tools are coming to all Google Photos users" (April 10, 2024); Apple iPhone User Guide, Clean up, extend, and reframe photos; Samsung, Using Object Eraser. Checked October 17, 2026.