Local Photo RestoreScratched or torn old photos: your real options
Local Photo Restore does not repair scratches, tears, creases, stains, or missing corners. For those, use a retouching tool with a healing brush (Photoshop, Lightroom, or Apple Photos Clean Up for small marks), an AI repair service such as MyHeritage Photo Repair, or a professional restorer for irreplaceable prints. You can still use Local Photo Restore afterward for clarity and color.
First, match the tool to the damage
- Dust and fine specks
- A spot-healing brush handles these well. Apple Photos Clean Up can remove small marks on supported iPhones.
- Thin scratches and creases
- Healing and clone tools, or AI scratch removal (Photoshop’s Photo Restoration neural filter, MyHeritage Photo Repair, Photomyne, Picsart).
- Tears and missing corners
- Content has to be painted in. Manual retouching or generative fill; results are reconstructions, not recovery.
- Damage across faces
- The hardest case. AI face tools may produce a different-looking person. A professional restorer, working from other photos of the same person, is the safest route.
- Stains and discoloration
- Local color fixes in an editor. Overall yellowing, on the other hand, is something Local Photo Restore handles.
Options, from free to professional
- Apple Photos (free). Crop, straighten, and basic adjustments on any iPhone. Clean Up can remove small blemishes on devices that support Apple Intelligence. It isn’t designed for tears.
- Adobe Photoshop (subscription). The most control: Spot Healing, Clone Stamp, Content-Aware Fill, and neural filters including Photo Restoration with scratch reduction. It takes time to learn and works best on a computer.
- MyHeritage Photo Repair (cloud, subscription after a few free photos). One-click AI scratch, tear, and stain repair, plus colorization and face enhancement. Photos are uploaded.
- Photomyne or Remini (cloud). Scanning-focused and enhancement-focused apps whose AI features process photos on their servers.
- A professional restorer. Best for a single irreplaceable print, heavy damage, or damage across faces. Ask to see their before/after work and to receive the untouched scan too.
Current prices for these are on the comparison page.
A combined workflow
- Scan or photograph the print carefully and keep that file.
- Repair scratches and tears in the tool of your choice, saving as a new file.
- Open the repaired copy in Local Photo Restore for Enhance, Remove Yellow Tint, and Restore Contrast.
- Compare with the original and label the final copy as restored.
Order matters a little: repairing first avoids sharpening the scratch along with everything else.
Protect the physical print
Don’t tape tears or flatten a brittle print by force. Store damaged originals flat in an acid-free sleeve, away from heat and light, and let a conservator handle physical repair if the print itself matters.
Local Photo Restore costs $3.99 once in the U.S. App Store, with no subscription or in-app purchases. iPhone and iPad, iOS or iPadOS 18.2 or later.