Coffee cup with steam, sent through WhatsApp: the compression halos disappear in the outline.
Download example SVG (5 kB)Download example DXF (76 kB)
Source image: Openclipart, GDJ, CC0 1.0.
Turn a WhatsApp or phone photo into a vector
Most image vectorizing tools fail on a low-quality JPG. This one runs AI upscaling first, so a blurry image from a chat can still give clean outlines.
Drop your image here
or
JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP or HEIC, up to 10 MB
Real examples, made with this converter
Each pair is an actual conversion of a public domain image, with the settings listed under it. You can download the exact files.
Penguin photographed as a sticker, in 3 colors.
Download example SVG (34 kB)Download example DXF (230 kB)
Source image: Openclipart, WinBen52, CC0 1.0.
Rooster image forwarded several times, traced in one color.
Download example SVG (9 kB)Download example DXF (110 kB)
Source image: Openclipart, johnny_automatic, CC0 1.0.
Free sample files, not watermarked.
Recommended settings
You decide the output here: pick the laser profile for DXF cuts or the Cricut / Silhouette profile for color layers.
- Profile
- Laser / CNC for outlines in DXF, Cricut / Silhouette for filled color layers.
- Colors
- 1 for a first try. A blurry source rarely holds more than 3 clean colors.
- Width
- Final width in millimeters.
- Detail
- Medium. Choose low when the source is very soft.
What WhatsApp does to an image
A chat app shrinks and recompresses images to save data, and every forward does it again. The result is a small JPG with soft edges and blocky halos. A direct tracer follows those halos and returns wobbly shapes.
How the AI upscaling helps
Before tracing, an AI upscaler enlarges the image and rebuilds clean edges. Then the colors are reduced and the contours are traced. The result is closer to what the artwork looked like before the compression. It cannot invent details that are gone: if the source is a smear, the outline will be a smooth smear.
Get a better source first
- Ask the sender to share the picture as a document or file, not as a photo: WhatsApp then keeps the original.
- If you photograph a drawing, use daylight, hold the phone parallel to the paper and fill the frame.
- iPhone HEIC photos are accepted directly.
Then use the files
LightBurn or Inkscape DXF or SVG
- Import the file from the laser profile and check the size.
Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio SVG or DXF
- Upload the SVG (Design Space, Silhouette Designer Edition) or open the DXF (Silhouette Basic).
Common mistakes
- Expecting a perfect copy. AI upscaling smooths and reconstructs, but it cannot recover detail that the compression erased.
- Sending a photo of a screen. Moiré patterns and reflections turn into shapes. Use the original file.
- Choosing too many colors. A noisy source gives noisy extra colors. Start with 1 or 2.
Questions
What kind of images work?
Flat drawings, logos, silhouettes and lettering. Photographs of people do not have outlines to trace.
Is my image stored?
See the privacy page for what we keep and for how long.
Which formats can I upload?
JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP and HEIC, up to 10 MB.