Convert Image to Grayscale
Turn a color photo into grayscale, crisp two-tone black & white or a warm sepia tone. Preview the result live, then download — all without the file ever leaving your device.
Tip: for scanned documents and signatures, choose “Black & white”, move the threshold until the background is clean white, and save as PNG. Need more control? Brightness, contrast and sharpening work together with every style — see also Photo Filters.
Frequently asked questions
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The colors are converted directly in your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. The file never leaves your device.
What’s the difference between grayscale and black & white?
Grayscale keeps every shade from black to white, so the photo still shows soft light and shadow. Black & white (two tones) turns every pixel either pure black or pure white — useful for scanned documents, signatures, stencils and a graphic, high-contrast look.
How is the gray tone of each color calculated?
Imgovo weighs red, green and blue by how bright they look to the human eye (the Rec. 709 luminance formula), so a green field and a red dress keep their natural brightness instead of turning into the same flat gray.
Can I keep a little bit of color?
Yes. Lower the “Style strength” slider to fade the color out only partly — for example 60–80% gives a muted, desaturated look.
Can I make the black and white photo more dramatic?
Yes. Raise “Contrast” for deeper blacks and brighter whites, adjust “Brightness”, and add a little “Sharpen” to bring out texture. All sliders work together with the grayscale style.
Which format should I save as?
JPG for photos, PNG for graphics, screenshots and anything with a transparent background (transparency is kept). For the two-tone black & white style, PNG keeps the edges perfectly clean.
Can I turn a grayscale image back into color?
No — the color information is removed from the saved copy. Your original file is not changed, so keep it if you might need the color version later.
Does converting to grayscale remove metadata?
Yes. The new image is saved from the pixels only, so EXIF data such as camera details and GPS location is not included.
Can I undo a change?
Yes. Undo and Redo (buttons above the settings, or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z) step back through the style, strength and every slider.