How to crop an image on any device

Cropping removes the parts of a photo you do not want and keeps the parts you do. It is one of the most common edits anyone makes to an image, and every major platform — Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android — has at least one built-in way to do it. This guide covers all of them, plus how to crop to exact pixel dimensions, common aspect ratios, batches of files, and the command line.

How to crop an image on Mac

Mac ships with Preview, which handles most cropping tasks without any install.

Using Preview

1. Open the image in Preview (double-click any JPG or PNG in Finder).
2. Click the Markup Toolbar button (the pencil icon), or press Shift+Cmd+A.
3. Drag a selection rectangle over the area you want to keep.
4. Go to Tools > Crop, or press Cmd+K.
5. Save with Cmd+S. Preview overwrites the original, so duplicate the file first if you want to keep a backup.

Cropping to an exact size in Preview

Preview does not have a pixel-dimension input for the crop selection, but you can work around it. After making a rough selection, open Tools > Adjust Size and type exact values. If you need precise crop coordinates from the start, use the Photos app or a browser tool instead.

Using Photos on Mac

1. Open the photo in the Photos app.
2. Double-click to open it, then click Edit in the top-right corner.
3. Select the Crop tool in the toolbar.
4. Drag the crop handles, or choose a fixed ratio from the Aspect Ratio dropdown.
5. Click Done.

Photos stores edits non-destructively, so you can revert to the original at any time.

How to crop an image on Windows

Windows 10 and 11 offer several built-in options depending on what you have installed.

Using the Photos app

1. Open the image in Photos (right-click the file, choose Open with > Photos).
2. Click the Edit image button (pencil icon) in the top bar.
3. Select Crop & rotate from the left panel.
4. Drag the handles to set your crop area.
5. Click Save a copy to keep the original, or Save to overwrite it.

Using Paint

Paint is still useful for quick crops when you know the exact pixel dimensions you need.

1. Open the image in Paint (Win+R, type mspaint, press Enter, then open your file).
2. Use the Select tool (dotted rectangle) to drag a selection.
3. Right-click the selection and choose Crop.
4. Save with Ctrl+S.

To crop to a specific size, use Image > Resize after the crop to set exact pixel values.

Using Snipping Tool / Snip & Sketch

Snipping Tool (Win+Shift+S) captures a region of your screen, which is effectively a crop of whatever is displayed. Useful for screenshots but not for existing image files.

How to crop an image on iPhone (iOS)

The built-in Photos app on iPhone makes cropping straightforward.

1. Open the photo in Photos.
2. Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
3. Tap the Crop icon (overlapping rectangles) at the bottom of the screen.
4. Drag the corner handles to adjust the crop, or pinch/zoom to reframe within the box.
5. To lock a ratio, tap the ratio icon at the top and choose Square, 16:9, 4:3, or another preset.
6. Tap Done, then Save.

Like on Mac Photos, the edit is non-destructive — tap Edit > Revert at any time to restore the original.

How to crop an image on Android

Android’s built-in gallery app varies by manufacturer, but the core steps are the same on Samsung Gallery, Google Photos, and most others.

Google Photos (available on all Android devices)

1. Open the photo in Google Photos.
2. Tap the Edit button (slider icon) at the bottom.
3. Tap Crop (the crop icon in the row of tools).
4. Drag the corner handles to set your crop.
5. Tap the ratio icon to lock to 1:1, 16:9, 4:3, or a custom ratio.
6. Tap Done, then Save copy to keep the original.

Samsung Gallery

The steps are nearly identical. Open the image, tap the pencil (edit) icon, then tap Crop in the bottom toolbar. Samsung Gallery adds a Freeform option alongside fixed ratios.

How to crop an image to a specific size

Free-dragging the crop handles rarely lands on exact pixel values. When dimensions matter — for a print, a web banner, or a social post — use one of these approaches.

In a browser tool

The privateconvert.org image cropper lets you type exact pixel dimensions before or after dragging the selection. Set width to 1200 and height to 630 for a standard Open Graph image, for instance, and the aspect ratio locks automatically. Everything processes locally in your browser — no upload, no account.

In Preview (Mac)

After cropping, use Tools > Adjust Size and type the exact width or height. Uncheck “Scale proportionally” only if you intend to stretch the image (usually you do not).

In Paint (Windows)

Use Image > Resize and switch from percentage to pixels before typing your values.

In GIMP (cross-platform, free)

1. Go to Image > Canvas Size, or use the Crop Tool and enter fixed dimensions in the Tool Options panel at the bottom.
2. With the Crop Tool selected, type your width and height in the tool options before dragging — GIMP constrains the selection to that size.

Common aspect ratios and where to use them

Locking to a ratio before cropping ensures your image fits its destination without distortion.

Ratio	Common use
1:1	Instagram posts, profile pictures, product thumbnails
4:3	Blog header images, standard desktop wallpapers
16:9	YouTube thumbnails, presentation slides, video covers
9:16	Instagram Stories, TikTok covers, vertical mobile ads
2:3	Pinterest pins, portrait prints (4×6 inch)
1.91:1	Facebook and LinkedIn link previews (Open Graph)

When in doubt, crop at the largest size you need first. Scaling down a 1200×630 image to 600×315 later is lossless; cropping a 600×315 image up loses quality.

How to batch crop images

Cropping dozens of images one by one is tedious. These methods handle multiple files at once.

On Mac with Automator

1. Open Automator (find it in Applications or Spotlight).
2. Create a new Quick Action workflow.
3. Add the action Crop Images from the Photos library.
4. Set your target dimensions.
5. Save the workflow, then right-click any folder of images in Finder and run it from Quick Actions.

On Windows with IrfanView (free)

1. Download and install IrfanView.
2. Go to File > Batch Conversion/Rename.
3. Add your images, enable Advanced options, and set the crop coordinates and dimensions.
4. Click Start Batch.

Using ImageMagick (command line, cross-platform)

See the CLI section below for a single command that crops an entire folder.

How to crop images from the command line

Command-line cropping is fast once you know the syntax, and it is easy to automate.

sips (Mac, no install required)

sips is Apple’s scriptable image processing system, built into every Mac. It does not support arbitrary crop regions by offset, but you can crop to centered dimensions:

sips --cropToHeightWidth 400 600 input.jpg --out output.jpg

This crops input.jpg to 600 pixels wide by 400 pixels tall, taken from the center of the image.

To batch-process a folder:

for f in ~/Desktop/photos/*.jpg; do
  sips --cropToHeightWidth 400 600 "$f" --out ~/Desktop/cropped/"$(basename "$f")"
done

ImageMagick (cross-platform)

ImageMagick’s convert command supports full crop control: width, height, and the X/Y offset from the top-left corner.

# Crop 800x600 starting 50 pixels from the left and 100 from the top
convert input.jpg -crop 800x600+50+100 +repage output.jpg

To crop an entire folder to a fixed size from the center:

mogrify -path ./cropped/ -gravity center -crop 800x600+0+0 +repage *.jpg

mogrify edits files in place by default; the -path flag redirects output to a separate folder.

How to crop an image without losing quality

Cropping itself does not degrade pixel quality — you are just removing pixels, not resampling them. Quality loss happens when:

• You save a JPEG after cropping. Every JPEG save re-encodes the file and introduces compression artifacts. Save as PNG if you need lossless, or keep JPEG quality at 90–95% in your export settings.
• You crop to a size smaller than your display target and then scale up. Always crop at or above the final display size.
• You use a tool that automatically resizes the output. Check that your crop tool preserves the original resolution before saving.

For web use: crop first, then resize. Do not resize and then try to crop — you may not have enough pixels left to work with.

Cropping in the browser without uploading your file

Browser-based croppers are the fastest option when you are already on a computer and do not want to open a desktop app. The tradeoff most people accept without thinking about it is that their file gets uploaded to a third-party server.

The privateconvert.org image cropper works differently: the crop runs entirely in your browser using the Canvas API, so nothing is transmitted. The file stays on your device from start to finish. This matters when the image contains personal information — a photo ID, a medical document, a private message on screen.

Steps:

1. Open the crop image tool at privateconvert.org.
2. Drop or select your file (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, and others are supported).
3. Drag the crop handles or enter exact pixel dimensions.
4. Lock an aspect ratio if needed (1:1, 16:9, 4:3, 9:16, or custom).
5. Click Crop and download the result.

No account. No watermark. No file size limit imposed by a server quota.

Troubleshooting common crop problems

The cropped image looks blurry This usually means the source image was too small for the crop dimensions, and the tool stretched it to fit. Use the original full-resolution file rather than a compressed or downsized version.

The crop cut off too much on one side Most automatic center-crop algorithms do not know where the subject is. Use manual selection to control exactly what is kept.

The output file is much larger than the original Cropping a JPEG and saving as PNG will inflate the file because PNG is lossless. Either save back as JPEG or run the PNG through a compressor afterward.

The aspect ratio looks wrong after export Some tools add a transparent border to reach the requested dimensions instead of cropping strictly. Check that you are using a true crop, not a canvas resize with letterboxing.

Colors look different after cropping Some tools strip the embedded ICC color profile on save. If color accuracy matters, use a tool that preserves ICC profiles, or re-embed the original profile after cropping.

Frequently asked questions

Can I crop an image without downloading any software? Yes. The privateconvert.org image cropper runs in your browser with no install and no upload. Open the page, drop your image, set the crop area, and download the result. It works on Mac, Windows, and mobile.

How do I crop an image to exactly 1080×1080 pixels? Use a tool that accepts numeric pixel inputs rather than just drag handles. In the browser, the privateconvert.org cropper lets you type exact dimensions directly. In Paint on Windows, crop a rough selection, then use Image > Resize to set 1080×1080 pixels. In GIMP, enter the values in the Crop Tool options panel before dragging.

Does cropping reduce the file size? Generally yes, because fewer pixels mean less data to encode. A JPEG cropped to half its original area will be noticeably smaller. The exact reduction depends on the image content and the compression settings used on save.

Does cropping an image reduce quality? Cropping alone does not reduce quality — it only removes pixels. Quality loss comes from re-saving as JPEG (which applies lossy compression each time) or from cropping below your display target size and then scaling up. To avoid quality loss, save as PNG after cropping, or use a high JPEG quality setting (90+).

How do I crop multiple images to the same size at once? On Mac, use Automator with the Crop Images action. On Windows, IrfanView’s batch conversion handles this with a crop step. On any platform, ImageMagick’s mogrify command can crop an entire folder in a single line. See the batch cropping section above for exact steps.

What is the best aspect ratio for social media? It depends on the platform: 1:1 for Instagram feed posts and profile pictures, 16:9 for YouTube thumbnails and Twitter link cards, 9:16 for Instagram and TikTok Stories, and 1.91:1 (roughly 2:1) for Facebook and LinkedIn link previews. The aspect ratios section above covers the full list.

Can I crop an image on my phone without an app? Both iPhone (Photos) and Android (Google Photos) have built-in crop tools that require no additional install. See the iPhone and Android sections above for step-by-step instructions.