Question 1

Will a phone selfie work as my source photo?

Accepted Answer

A selfie is a perfectly good starting point, and it is where most people begin. Three things make the difference: hold the phone roughly an arm's length away so perspective does not stretch your features, find soft and even lighting such as a window that faces away from direct sun, and keep your gaze level with the lens. From there the editor crops to the right framing on its own and swaps the background for the shade the issuing authority asks for.

Question 2

Does my photo ever leave my device?

Accepted Answer

It does not, and this is a consequence of how the app is engineered rather than a promise we ask you to take on faith. Detecting the face, lifting the background, cropping, and checking each rule all happen inside your browser using WebAssembly and a background worker. We run no image-processing servers, so there is simply no destination your photo could be sent to.

Question 3

What if an authority turns my photo down?

Accepted Answer

This is uncommon, since the checks we run mirror the criteria a reviewing officer works from. If it happens, write to us and we will help you work through the likely cause — but acceptance is ultimately the issuing authority’s decision, and making sure the photo meets your application’s requirements is your responsibility.

Question 4

Which countries are covered?

Accepted Answer

Coverage spans 90+ countries across every region. You can browse them all in the Passport Directory, where each country opens its own editor preset to the exact dimensions, head-height range, and background shade the issuing authority specifies. If yours is missing, write to contact@clearidphoto.com and we will look at adding it.

Question 5

Are visa photos handled too?

Accepted Answer

They are. The Visa Directory covers destinations that publish a visa-specific photo standard, such as Schengen, the US DS-160, the UK visa, the India e-Visa, and the China visa. These tend to carry stricter file-size and digital-submission limits than the matching passport, and the editor applies those automatically.

Question 6

Why does the background get replaced?

Accepted Answer

Authorities are particular about background colour: plain white is expected in the US, India, Brazil, and much of Asia, while a light grey or off-white is the norm in the UK, Germany, France, and the wider Schengen area. The segmentation step isolates you from whatever is behind you and fills in the required tone, which is how an ordinary photo against a household wall ends up meeting the standard.

Question 7

Am I allowed to keep my glasses on?

Accepted Answer

In most places, no. Between 2016 and 2020 the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, and most of the Schengen area stopped permitting eyeglasses in passport photos, because lens glare can disrupt biometric matching. A few countries such as Japan, China, and Russia still allow them under conditions. Whichever applies to you is spelled out on the relevant country page.

Question 8

Is facial hair acceptable?

Accepted Answer

It is. Beards, moustaches, and stubble are all fine. What matters is that your eyes, nose, and mouth stay clearly visible and that the photo reflects how you currently look. Where both ears must show, as in Canada and Argentina, tuck longer hair behind them.

Question 9

If everything runs locally, why is there a charge?

Accepted Answer

Checking your photo against the rules is free and unlimited, and you get the full report without paying anything. The €4.99 applies only to the finished file you download. It funds keeping the spec database current as 90+ sets of requirements shift, licensing the machine-learning models, hosting, and support. Nothing recurs and there is no subscription.

Question 10

How recent does the photo need to be?

Accepted Answer

Many countries, including the US, UK, EU members, Australia, and Canada, ask that the photo be no older than six months when you apply. Some are tighter: Mexico expects a photo from the past 30 days and Singapore from the past three months. The exact window is noted on each country page.

Question 11

What does the refund cover?

Accepted Answer

You can request a refund in two situations: the downloaded file does not match the spec shown on our country page, or you change your mind within 14 days of buying. There are no forms to fill out. Funds return to your original payment method within five business days. We do not refund photos that an issuing authority rejects — meeting your application’s requirements is your responsibility.

Question 12

Which file types can I upload?

Accepted Answer

Source images can be JPEG, PNG, or WebP up to 15 MB. The download is always JPEG, the format passport authorities accept everywhere, at the precise pixel dimensions and DPI the spec calls for. Where an online portal caps the file size — DS-160 at 240 KB, India e-Visa at 1 MB, Schengen at 200 KB — the output is compressed to stay within the limit.

Question 13

Do I need a print, or will the digital file do?

Accepted Answer

That depends on how you are applying. Online channels such as the US DS-160, the UK online passport renewal, India Passport Seva, and the China e-visa take the digital file alone. In-person applications usually expect prints, which is what the included print sheet is for — A4, or US Letter for US/Canada: have it printed at any pharmacy or photo kiosk and cut along the guides.

Question 14

Does the automatic crop handle children and babies?

Accepted Answer

For toddlers and older children it does, as the face detector copes well with them. For newborns and infants under roughly six months, the cleanest results come from photographing the child lying on a plain sheet with no hands or supports showing in frame. Some authorities relax the eyes-open, facing-the-camera rule for infants, and where they do, the spec reflects it.

Question 15

Is any data retained?

Accepted Answer

There are no tracking cookies, no analytics that capture personal information, no accounts, and no marketing mail. The only records kept are what a payment requires — a transaction reference, the country, and the price — and those are held by the payment processor, Stripe. Your photo is never part of that record.

Question 16

Can I adjust the result by hand afterwards?

Accepted Answer

For now the crop and background are produced automatically, which we have found gives the most dependable compliance results. When the automatic output is not quite right, re-uploading a sharper, better-lit source usually resolves it. Optional manual adjustments to the crop frame are planned for a later release.

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