Invert Image Colors
To invert image colors means turning every color into its opposite: white becomes black, blue becomes yellow. Choose an image, pick an effect, save it – everything runs in your browser, the photo is never uploaded.
Source: W3C – Filter Effects Module Level 1: invert(), grayscale() and sepia(). Updated: .
How it is calculated
In short: The tool recalculates every pixel. For the negative, each color value becomes 255 minus the value, so a photo looks like a film negative. Other effects are invert lightness, grayscale, sepia and black and white. Everything runs in the browser, without an upload.
How it works
- Drag in an image, choose one or paste it with Ctrl + V.
- Pick an effect. The preview shows the original and the result side by side.
- With “Strength” you mix the result with the original; for black and white you set the threshold.
- Choose a format and click “Save image”.
The effects at a glance
- Negative: red, green and blue are inverted. White becomes black, blue becomes yellow.
- Invert lightness only: light and dark swap, the hues stay. A photo with a bright background turns dark without faces turning green. Handy for dark-mode screenshots.
- Grayscale, sepia, black and white: the formulas follow the W3C definition of the CSS filters.
Honest limits
- Inverting is exactly reversible: inverting a second time returns the original as long as you save as PNG. JPG loses a little quality with every save.
- The lightness effect is a calculation, not an enhancement. On photos it often looks odd.
- Very large images are reduced to the browser limit; on iPhone and iPad that is 16.7 megapixels.
Privacy
The image is processed only in your browser and is not uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
How can I invert an image?
Drag the image in, choose “Negative” and click “Save image”. Free, with no sign-up and no upload.
What is the difference between negative and invert lightness?
The negative inverts every color, so blue becomes yellow. With “Invert lightness only” just light and dark swap and the hues stay.
Can I turn an inverted image back?
Yes, with a second pass. Save as PNG, because JPG changes the pixels slightly when compressing.
How do I make an image black and white?
Choose “Grayscale” for soft grays or “Black and white (threshold)” for pure black and white. The threshold sets from which brightness a pixel turns white.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Editing runs in your device’s browser and the photo never leaves it.
Sources and legal basis
- W3C – Filter Effects Module Level 1: invert(), grayscale() and sepia()
- W3C – CSS Color Module Level 4: HSL color model (lightness, saturation, hue)
- MDN – ImageData: pixel data of a canvas (RGBA, 8 bit)
- ITU-T T.81 / ISO/IEC 10918-1 – JPEG
- W3C – Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Specification
- Google for Developers – An image format for the Web (WebP)
- AOMedia – AV1 Image File Format (AVIF)
- MDN – Image file type and format guide
- MDN – HTMLCanvasElement.toBlob()
- Open-source licenses of the libraries used (MIT, LGPL-3.0)
As of:
Related tools
- Free online photo editorEdit photos in your browser: brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth, filters like black and white or sepia, rotate and flip. Free, full resolution.
- Color picker from image (eyedropper)Get color codes from any image: open a photo, click a spot and copy the HEX, RGB or HSL value – plus the main colors. No upload, it all stays in your browser.
- Image converter: JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIFConvert images without uploading: PNG to JPG, JPG to PNG, WebP to JPG or PNG, HEIC to JPG, or to AVIF – up to 20 images at once, ZIP download. Free.
- Circle crop an imageCrop an image into a circle: move and zoom the circle, save as PNG with transparent corners – perfect for profile pictures. Sizes and border, no upload.
- Rotate and flip imagesRotate and flip images online: 90°, 180° or straighten freely, many photos at once, JPG even lossless via EXIF. Download as ZIP – nothing is uploaded.
- Color blindness simulatorSee your image and colors the way people with red-green or blue-yellow color blindness or no color vision see them. Scientific model, image stays local, free.