Restore old photos
What it does: Turn faded, blurry, or black-and-white family photos into sharp, clean color images. Works on photos you snap with your phone or scan at home. How long: 5 minutes. Does it cost money: No.
| Effort | Setup | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| ★★★★☆ One paste away | ★☆☆☆☆ Just need the ChatGPT app | ★☆☆☆☆ Photos get uploaded, so skip anything sensitive |
How to do it
Using ChatGPT (or Google Gemini) on your phone
- Open ChatGPT, tap ＋ → Photos, and pick the old photo (for paper photos, take a picture of it first in even lighting with no glare)
- Copy and send this prompt:
Restore this old photo: improve sharpness, repair damage and fading, and colorize it if it’s black and white. Keep every facial feature exactly the same.
- Wait about 30 seconds. Not happy with it? Just say what to change (“make the faces sharper”, “warmer colors”) and it’ll try again
Tips that actually matter
- Paper photos: prop them on a plain surface near a window, shoot straight down. A glass frame will glare, so take the photo out if you can
- Group photos: restore the whole shot first, then ask it to zoom in on one person if needed
- Badly damaged photos (torn, water-stained): it still works, but expect softer results around the damaged areas. It fills in gaps by guessing, so compare faces carefully against the original
Watch out
- The AI fills in missing details by making its best guess. For one-of-a-kind family photos, keep the original file untouched and treat the restored version as a copy
- Results vary between apps. If ChatGPT’s version looks off, try the same prompt in Gemini; they fail differently
Last tested: pending. This walkthrough was prepared from the products’ documented capabilities and has not yet been verified step-by-step by a real person. If you try it (whether it works or not), tell us on GitHub.