Best AI Photo Restoration Apps in 2026

What AI Photo Restoration Actually Does

AI photo restoration uses machine learning to reverse damage in old photographs. It can sharpen blurry faces, remove scratches and creases, restore faded colors, and upscale low-resolution images to modern quality.

The best tools combine multiple AI models — one for face enhancement, another for scratch removal, another for colorization. The quality difference between apps comes down to which models they use and how well they chain them together.

1. Gluely — Best All-in-One (iOS)

Gluely combines AI upscaling, skin enhancement, and relighting into one app. Upload an old photo and the AI enhances faces, sharpens details, and corrects lighting automatically. The results are photorealistic — not the over-smoothed look you get from basic enhancement tools.

What sets Gluely apart is the combination of restoration with creative AI tools. After restoring an old photo, you can animate it into a video, apply artistic styles, or use the AI character feature to reimagine the person in different scenes. Free credits included on download.

2. Remini — Best for Face Enhancement

Remini is the go-to for enhancing blurry faces in old photos. It excels at reconstructing facial details — eyes, skin texture, hair — from very low resolution sources. The free tier gives you a few enhances per day.

The limitation is that Remini is primarily a face tool. It doesn't handle scratch removal, colorization, or full-scene restoration as well as other options. For portraits specifically, it's excellent.

3. MyHeritage — Best for Colorization

MyHeritage's Deep Nostalgia and photo colorization features are impressive for bringing black-and-white photos to life. The AI adds historically accurate colors and can even animate faces in old photos.

The downside is the subscription model — most features require a MyHeritage membership. It's also primarily web-based, which means uploading family photos to their servers.

4. Adobe Photoshop (Generative Fill) — Best for Professionals

Photoshop's Neural Filters and Generative Fill can restore damaged photos with surgical precision. You can remove specific scratches, rebuild missing areas, and enhance selectively. But it requires a Creative Cloud subscription and actual Photoshop skills.

If you're a professional photo restorer, Photoshop is unmatched. For everyone else, the AI-first apps above will get you 90% of the way with zero learning curve.

How to Choose the Right App

If your main goal is fixing blurry faces in old family photos, start with Gluely or Remini — both deliver excellent face enhancement with minimal effort. For colorizing black-and-white photos, MyHeritage leads. Need a professional headshot instead? See our free AI headshot generator roundup.

For scratched or physically damaged prints, Gluely's combination of inpainting and enhancement handles the most damage types in one workflow. Scan your old photo at the highest resolution possible before processing for best results.

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