How to crop an image on any device

It’s happened to all of us — you take what you think is the best photo ever. Then you look closer and discover a stranger sticking his head in your lap with his tongue out and his thumb up. Or you take a great breathtaking landscape shot, but accidentally get the McDonald’s Golden Arches in the corner, spoiling the mood. Instead of banging your head in frustration, just crop the image on any device to get rid of the offending elements. Here’s how to do it in a minute or two.

Read more: 15 Best Photo Editor Apps for Android

How to Crop an Image on a Windows PC

There are a few image editing programs installed on Windows, such as the default Photos app and Paint. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll stick with the Photos app.

Open the image, and at the top of the screen you will see a Edit image button. Click on it.

The top bar will now have four image editing options. The first one is Washed. Select it.

Using your cursor, drag one of the four thick white corners inward until you have the portion of the image you want to keep. As you do this, the updated dimensions of the image will show on the screen.

When you’re done cropping the image, click the down arrow Save as copy. You can then choose either Savewhich overwrites the original image or Save as copy leaving the original image alone.

How to crop an image on a Mac

There are two ways to crop an image on a Mac, both equally easy. We will look at both.

Finder

Open the image in Finder, then drag your cursor over the portion of the image you want to keep. A dotted box will appear over that selected section. You can move the box around until you get the perfect crop by holding and moving the blue circle sitting on the dotted line.

When you have selected the cut out section, click the icon that looks like the tip of a pen. This will bring up a second menu – the icon at the far end (a square with some bits sticking out) is the crop option. Click on it and the uncut portion will disappear.

Photos app

Alternatively, you can crop your image in the Photos app. After opening the image, click Edit top right of the screen.

You will now see a Washed option. Click on it.

Crop the image by using your cursor to drag one of the thick white corners inward. When you’re done clipping, click the yellow finished button to save your changes.

How to Crop an Image on Android

The easiest way to crop an image on Android is to use Google Photos.

• Open the image and click Edit at the bottom of the screen.
• Click now Washed.
• Use your finger to drag the white cut corners inward until you cut out what you don’t need.
• Click Save. You will be asked if you want to save it (overwrite the original) or save the cropped image as a copy.

How to crop an image on iPhone and iPad

On iOS, the Photos app is the easiest and fastest way to crop an image. It works more or less the same as the Mac Photos app.

• Open the image and click Edit at the top of the screen.
• Click on the crop icon at the bottom of the screen (a screw-up type square).
• Use your finger to drag the white corners inwards until you have cropped the image. Then tap Save at the bottom to save your changes.