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Shutdown news · Updated September 20, 2026 · Every date below is from remove.bg's, Canva's, or Leonardo.Ai's own published pages.

remove.bg Shutdown Timeline: Every Date That Matters

The remove.bg standalone website stops being available on December 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CET. Here are all the confirmed dates in the shutdown — what already happened, what's coming, and a month-by-month checklist so nothing strands you.

The confirmed dates

  • 2021: Canva acquires Kaleido AI, remove.bg's parent company. remove.bg keeps operating as a standalone product.
  • August 27, 2026: Leonardo.Ai publishes a news post: "remove.bg's background removal API has joined Leonardo.Ai." The API's new home is named publicly for the first time.
  • September 2026: remove.bg announces the standalone shutdown. Their FAQ — "remove.bg is moving to Canva" — states the website stops being available December 1, 2026; a banner on the API page points developers to Leonardo.Ai. Leonardo publishes an API migration guide with a parameter mapping table.
  • December 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. CET: the remove.bg website stops being available. Self-service API requests stop the same day. Existing Enterprise API contracts are not affected, per remove.bg's FAQ.

What each date means for you

  • Website users (quick one-off cutouts): your workflow moves into Canva, where Background Remover is a Canva Pro (paid) feature. After December 1, there is no free standalone remove.bg.
  • API users (apps, plugins, pipelines): self-service requests stop December 1. The official path is Leonardo.Ai — see our developer migration guide.
  • Credit holders and subscribers: remove.bg hasn't published what happens to unused credits (full breakdown here). Plan as if they expire; spend them down.

Your month-by-month checklist

September — decide (now)

  • Figure out which remove.bg you use: occasional website use, an API integration, or paid credits. Each leads somewhere different.
  • Pick a replacement and test it while remove.bg still works — edge quality on hair, fur, glass, and product shots is where tools differ, and right now you can A/B against the original.

October — migrate

  • API users: get credentials on Leonardo.Ai (or your chosen alternative), map parameters, and run test traffic. Don't discover incompatibilities in November.
  • Credit holders: burn down pay-as-you-go credits on real work; check subscription billing dates so nothing renews into December.

November — cut over

  • Move production traffic off the remove.bg API. Update any plugins, Zaps, or Figma/Photoshop integrations.
  • Cancel subscriptions you won't need. Export invoices and usage history from your dashboard; screenshot your final credit balance.
  • Switch your bookmarks and team docs to the replacement. Tell anyone who "just uses remove.bg" where to go now.

December 1, 9:00 a.m. CET — the deadline

  • The site and self-service API stop. Anything still pointed at remove.bg breaks. If you followed the checklist, this date is a non-event.
Don't do this on November 30. Migrations uncover surprises — a parameter that maps differently, a plugin that needs an update, a billing hold on a new account. Support queues at every alternative will also be at their worst in the final week. The people who migrate calmly in October are the ones who tested in September.

Frequently asked questions

Is the December 1, 2026 date confirmed?

Yes — it's on remove.bg's own FAQ ("the standalone website stops being available on December 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CET") and their API page banner. Note the year: some secondhand coverage quotes "December 1" without it.

What happens exactly at 9:00 a.m. CET on December 1?

The remove.bg website stops being available and self-service API requests stop. Treat it as a hard cutoff — requests to the old endpoints fail after that point.

I'm an Enterprise API customer — am I affected?

No. Per remove.bg's FAQ, existing Enterprise API contracts are not affected by the shutdown.

What should I do this week?

Pick your replacement and test it on your real images while remove.bg is still up for comparison. Our alternatives comparison covers free tiers, pricing, and privacy — and Deback is free to try right now with no account.

Where do I go for the full story?

Start with our shutdown overview, then the credits explainer if you've paid for credits, the Leonardo.Ai breakdown for what changes, or the API migration guide if you're a developer.

Test your replacement today, not November 30

Free background removal that runs on your device — no account, no upload, no credits to expire.

Remove a background now

A note on trademark use

remove.bg, Canva, and Leonardo.Ai are trademarks of their respective owners. Product names appear here only to describe the shutdown factually. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.