Blur and pixelate · Mac and iPhone
How to blur a face, or anything private, in a video
Real footage is full of things you cannot publish: API keys, customer emails, a stranger's face in the background, a licence plate. Blurring or pixelating them is the step that decides whether a video can go out at all.
In Zella, a blur is a callout like an arrow or a box. You place it, size it and set when it appears, and it is drawn into the export. There is no automatic face tracking, so it suits a fixed area best: a corner of a screen, a seated person, a parked car.
- Mac and iPhone
- Free on every tier
Quick answer
To blur a face in a video on iPhone or Mac, add a Blur callout in Zella, or Pixelate for a mosaic, from Arrows & Labels on iPhone or the Arrows tab on the Mac, and size it over the area. The same callout blurs part of a video of any kind, such as an email or a key in a screen recording, and it is hidden in the exported file, not just the preview. You place it by hand: Zella does not track a moving face automatically, so cover the path it moves through or use a few shorter callouts in sequence. Free on every tier.
How to do it in Zella
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Step 1: Find the moment
Scrub to where the face, key or email first appears on screen.
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Step 2: Add Blur or Pixelate
On the Mac, open the Arrows tab and add a Blur or Pixelate callout. On iPhone, open Arrows & Labels and pick blur or pixelate-censor.
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Step 3: Cover the area with a margin
Drag the handles until it covers the thing you are hiding, and make it a little larger than it needs to be.
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Step 4: Set how long it stays
Set the start time and duration to match. If the subject moves, cover the whole path it travels, or add another callout for the next stretch.
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Step 5: Check the export
Play the exported file and watch each censored stretch from start to end before you publish.
Why do it this way
Hidden in the file
The censor is baked into the exported MP4, MOV or GIF, not layered on top of the preview.
Two looks
Blur for a clean, discreet cover; Pixelate for the blocky mosaic viewers recognise as redaction.
Next to your other callouts
Censor, point and label from the same tab with the same timing controls, so a demo is annotated and made safe in one pass.
What you need
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), or iPhone on iOS 18 or later
- Manual placement: there is no automatic face tracking
- Free on every tier: no watermark, exports up to 2 minutes at 1080p
Questions
Does Zella blur faces automatically?
No. Zella has no automatic face-tracking blur. You place a Blur or Pixelate callout over the face and set how long it stays; for a moving face, cover its path or use a few shorter callouts.
Is the blur in the exported video or only the preview?
In the exported file. Blur and Pixelate callouts bake into MP4, MOV and GIF exports.
Can I blur part of a screen recording, like an email address?
Yes, that is the most common use. Size a Blur callout over the email, key or dashboard figure for as long as it is on screen.
Should I censor before or after editing?
After. Lock the cut first, then censor, so the callout timing matches the final video, and always before you export.
Is it free?
Yes, on every tier, on the Mac and on iPhone.
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