Best Fawkes Alternatives ranked by AI · updated Aug 2026

Fawkes is a free privacy tool that subtly alters photos to make facial-recognition systems identify people incorrectly. It is designed for individuals who want to share photos online while reducing the usefulness of those images for biometric identification.

Developer: SAND Lab, University of Chicago Price: Free 🎯 sandlab.cs.uchicago.edu/fawkes

🔒 Privacy 🔓 Open Source Facial Recognition image anonymization

Top 6 Fawkes alternatives

LowKey

SAND Lab, University of Chicago

💡 Pick it when you want a research-backed Fawkes alternative focused specifically on adversarial facial-recognition protection.

LowKey is a privacy tool that applies adversarial perturbations to photos to reduce the accuracy of facial-recognition systems. It is aimed at...

Pros

Closest technical alternative to Fawkes for facial-recognition evasion
Designed specifically for identity protection in photographs
Can preserve a more natural-looking face than pixelation

Cons

Availability and maintenance are less predictable than mainstream apps
May be less effective against recognition systems outside its tested models
Requires more technical setup than browser-based blur tools

Free

Alternatives to LowKey → Visit site

Anonymous Camera

💡 Pick it for quick on-device redaction of faces and identifying details in photos or video.

Anonymous Camera is a mobile camera app that automatically anonymizes faces, bodies, and identifying details in photos and video. It is intended...

Pros

Works directly on mobile photos and video
Can automatically detect and obscure faces and other identifying details
Useful for journalists and activists handling sensitive media

Cons

Visible anonymization is less natural than Fawkes-style cloaking
Mobile platform support is narrower than desktop tools
Automatic detection can miss faces or obscure non-target details

Free with paid features

Alternatives to Anonymous Camera → Visit site

Image Scrubber

Everest Pipkin

💡 Pick it when you also need metadata stripping and straightforward browser-based redaction.

Image Scrubber is a browser-based tool for removing image metadata and obscuring faces or other sensitive regions. It is suited to people...

Pros

Runs in the browser and supports local image processing
Removes metadata as well as obscuring selected visual details
Useful for journalists and activists sharing sensitive images

Cons

Manual redaction is less automatic than dedicated face-anonymization apps
Visible blur or pixelation is easier to reverse or infer than adversarial cloaking
Not designed to fool facial-recognition models while preserving appearance

Free

Alternatives to Image Scrubber → Visit site

FacePixelizer

💡 Pick it for the quickest browser-based face blur when visual redaction is sufficient.

FacePixelizer is a web tool for blurring or pixelating faces, names, and other sensitive areas in images. It is designed for casual...

Pros

Very fast for one-off image redaction
Supports faces and arbitrary sensitive regions
Requires no installation or account

Cons

Visible pixelation provides weaker protection than adversarial cloaking
Does not protect against recognition using unblurred imagery
Lacks Fawkes-style model-targeted perturbations

Free

Alternatives to FacePixelizer → Visit site

Deface

ORB-HD

💡 Pick it for automated local blurring of faces across large image or video collections.

Deface is an open-source command-line tool that detects faces in images and video and applies configurable visual obfuscation. It is aimed at...

Pros

Supports automated processing of images and video
Runs locally and can fit into scripted workflows
Open source and suitable for batch jobs

Cons

Requires command-line comfort and local installation
Uses visible obfuscation rather than adversarial protection
Detection quality depends on the underlying model and footage

Free

Alternatives to Deface → Visit site

DeepPrivacy

Håkon Hukkelås

💡 Pick it when you prefer synthetic face replacement and batch automation over Fawkes's adversarial image perturbations.

DeepPrivacy is an open-source research system that anonymizes faces by generating realistic replacement faces. It is intended for developers and researchers who...