Old Photo Restoration

Upload a scan or phone photo of an old print. AI removes scratches, stains, tears and fading, and keeps every person looking like themselves.

At a glance

What it fixes
Scratches, cracks, dust, stains, creases, small missing or torn areas, and faded tones
Cost
3 credits per photo; failed runs are refunded automatically
Free to try
New accounts get 3 free credits — one restoration
Input
JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC (HEIC in Safari), up to 20 MB, shorter side at least 256 px
Output
JPEG of about 4 megapixels (for example 1760 × 2432)
Time
About a minute; you can close the page while it runs
Storage
Your upload and the result are deleted after 24 hours
Payment
One-time credit packs. No subscription, credits never expire

How to use Old Photo Restoration

  1. Step 1

    Upload the photo

    Choose a scan or a straight-on phone photo of the print. Large photos are resized in your browser before upload.

  2. Step 2

    Restore

    Press Restore (3 credits). The photo is processed on our servers, so you can close the page and come back.

  3. Step 3

    Compare and download

    Check the before and after side by side, then download the restored JPEG. It stays in My restorations for 24 hours.

Examples

Scratched 1850s portrait

Before

Daguerreotype portrait of a man covered in scratches and haze, before restoration

After

The same portrait after restoration, with the scratches and haze removed

Scratches and haze are gone and the face is unchanged. The background also came out smoother than the original.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Jacob Thompson (ca. 1857) · Public domain

Glass plate with a missing corner

Before

Group of eleven tennis players, with the top-left corner of the glass plate missing, before restoration

After

The same tennis group after restoration, with the missing corner filled in

All eleven people stay the same. The missing corner was filled with trees and a building — that part is drawn by AI, because the original is lost.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Grupo de ténis, Funchal, c. 1905 · Public domain

Family photo with peeling damage

Before

Family group portrait with large peeled patches over two faces, before restoration

After

The same family portrait after restoration, with the peeled areas repaired

The peeling is fully repaired and everyone keeps their pose. The man on the right and the woman in front had almost no face left in the original, so their faces were redrawn by AI and may not match the real people. The small inset portrait also lost its yellow tint.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Sofia Jansdotter Wallin family · Public domain

FAQ

Will it change the faces?

It is instructed to keep every person exactly the same — face, expression, age, hair and clothing — and to change only the damage. AI can still redraw very small or badly damaged details, so compare the before and after before you print or share it.

Does it colorize black-and-white photos?

No. A black-and-white or sepia photo stays monochrome; a color photo keeps natural colors with the fading repaired.

What happens if the restoration fails?

Your 3 credits are returned automatically. If a result still arrives after we have given up waiting, it appears in My restorations for free.

Can I close the page while it runs?

Yes. The restoration keeps running on our servers. Sign in again on any device within 24 hours and find it under My restorations.

Why was my photo declined?

Our AI provider automatically declines some images under its content rules. The credits are returned. If several photos are declined in one day, restorations are paused on the account for 24 hours.

What happens to my photos?

Your photo is sent to our AI provider, fal.ai, to create the result. We keep the upload and the result for 24 hours so you can download them, then delete them automatically.

Is a restored photo suitable for official documents?

No. Restoration is generated by AI and may alter small details, so don't use it where an unedited original is required, such as passports or legal records.

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