Transparent means an alpha channel
A transparent picture is not a picture with a white or checkered background. It is one where every pixel carries a fourth number, alpha, that says how opaque it is. Nought is fully see-through, one is solid, and everything in between is a soft edge. That fourth number is what lets a logo sit on any slide colour, or a product sit on any page, without a box around it.
This page opens on the object model rather than the portrait model, because the things people make transparent are mostly logos, products and graphics. Switch to the portrait model from the line under the picture if it is a person.
Which formats keep it
Only two of the three formats offered here can hold transparency. The download button switches away from JPG while the background is transparent, so a flattened file is never produced by accident.
| Format | Keeps transparency | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Yes, full 8-bit alpha | Anything that must work everywhere |
| WebP | Yes | Web pages you control; smaller files |
| JPG | No — laid on a colour | Photos where a background is wanted anyway |
Questions people ask
- Why does my transparent PNG show a white background?
- Either the viewer draws white behind transparent pixels (many photo apps do), or the file was flattened when it was saved. Open it in a browser tab or drop it onto a coloured slide: if the colour shows through, the transparency is there. Files from this page always keep the alpha channel unless you choose JPG, which cannot hold one.
- PNG or WebP for a transparent image?
- PNG goes everywhere — every editor, every slide app, every upload form. WebP with transparency is often a third of the size and is fine on the web, but some older apps and many form uploads still refuse it.
- Can I make only part of the background transparent?
- Yes. After the cut-out, open Refine edges and use Restore to bring back any area you want to keep, such as the table a product stands on.
Other background jobs
- Remove backgroundThe background off any picture, as a full-size transparent PNG.
- Remove white backgroundThe white box around a logo gone, the white inside it kept. No model.
- Signature backgroundPaper out, ink kept, cropped close as a transparent PNG. No model.
- Product photo backgroundPure white, centred on a square at the fill a marketplace measures.