How to Blur Background on iPhone Video

Want to hide something or someone from your video background? Or want your video to focus on one subject and blur the background? In such cases, you need to know how to blur background on iPhone video.

Whether it is a cinematic video where you blur everything in the background, or you have just blurred certain parts in the video, we’ve covered all of them. We’ll show you how to get this type of video blurring on your iPhone.

How to blur background on iPhone video using the Photos app

With the launch of the iPhone 13, you are introduced to an amazing feature called the Cinematic Mode. This feature lets you apply depth-of-field effects to your video. Meaning that the subject of your video will appear very clear, but the background or the foreground will be blurred. You already had a similar feature for pictures that were taken in the Portrait Mode. So, now you can blur the background of your iPhone video with the cinematic editing feature.

Steps on how to blur background on iPhone video with the Photos app:

Steps on how to blur the background of a video on iPhone with the Photos app

Open your iPhone’s Photos app and select a video. Not just any video, but one recorded in the Cinematic Mode.
Then tap on Edit.
Next, tap on the Depth Control or (f) icon located at the top of the screen.
A slider to adjust the depth control will appear at the bottom of the video. You can control the depth of field effect by dragging the slider left or right.
When you’re happy with the outcome of your video, click Done.

Here’s how to change the focus subject in a Cinematic video mode on your iPhone:

Open the Photos
Next, select your video recorded in the Cinematic Mode and tap Edit.
Then either play the video or drag the white vertical bar in the frame viewer to head over to the point where you’d want to adjust the focus. Also, remember, the white dots beneath the frame viewer represent areas where the Camera adjusted the focus while recording.
Next, you should tap on the new subject to change the focus, which will be outlined in yellow. You’ll notice a yellow dot appearing on the frame viewer, indicating the manual change of focus.
Or you could double-tap to enable automatic subject focus tracking.
You can repeat the above steps throughout the entire length of the video. If you want to remove a manual focus change, then tap on the yellow dot in the frame viewer and tap on the Trash
Finally, tap on Done to save your changes.

How to blur background on iPhone video using a third-party app

Another way to blur something in the background of a video on an iPhone is with the help of a video blurring app. In this in-depth guide, we will be using the Blur Video Background app for iPhone. With this app, you can easily blur faces in a video or blur part of a video on your iPhone.

Install the Blur Video Background app from the App Store for free.

You won’t get the exact cinematic look as you would from the Photos app’s Cinematic Mode with this app. With the Blur Video Background app, you can blur out part of a video in the background, whether it is something or someone.

Here’s How to blur something in a video on iPhone with the Blur Video Background app:

Steps on how to blur out part of a video on iPhone using the Blur video Background app

Open the Blur Video Background
Next, select your video from your iPhone library.
Then on the video blurring screen, you can select the type of blur effects and shape of the blur.
After that, apply your blurring effect to hide something from your video’s background. It can be another person or a thing.
Once you are done, tap on Export.

How to blur part of a video on iPhone with iMovie

If you want to blur something or someone from your video but also don’t want to use a third-party app, then iMovie is a great option. It is Apple’s own video editing application and also works with their other devices such as the iPad and Mac. Though you cannot fully blur the background of your video, you can use it to hide certain parts of it. However, for this, you need to have a black or blurred picture on your iPhone’s Photos library.

Here’s how to blur something in a video on iPhone with iMovie:

Open iMovie on your iPhone.
Then tap on Movie to start a new project.
Next, select your video from your iPhone library.
On the video editing screen that appears, tap on the Plus +
Next, tap on Photos and select the black or blurred picture to add to the editing screen using the Picture in Picture
After that, use the photo to hide or blur part(s) of your video.
When you’re happy with the outcome of your video, click Done.

Concluding remarks

Your iPhone’s camera is very impressive, and you can capture some amazing videos with it. With the new Cinematic Mode feature, you can have stunning blurred backgrounds on your videos. So, when you open your iPhone’s Camera to shoot a video, swipe to the right to select Cinematic Mode. Nonetheless, here we’ve covered in great detail everything there is about how to blur background on iPhone video.