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Shutdown news · Updated September 17, 2026 · Facts below are from remove.bg's own pages; plans change — verify before deciding.

remove.bg Is Shutting Down on December 1, 2026 — Here's What to Do

The standalone remove.bg website stops being available on December 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CET. Background removal moves into the Canva platform; self-service API requests move to Leonardo.Ai. If you use remove.bg — for quick edits or inside a product — here is exactly what was announced, who it affects, and what to do before the deadline.

What remove.bg itself says. Their FAQ page — titled "remove.bg is moving to Canva" — states: "remove.bg became part of Canva in 2021. We're now migrating remove.bg's background removal functionality into the Canva platform." A banner on their API page adds: "Starting December 1, 2026, background removal moves to Leonardo.Ai, also part of Canva." This isn't a rumor; it's their published plan.

The timeline

  • 2021: remove.bg becomes part of Canva (via its parent company, Kaleido AI).
  • September 2026: remove.bg announces the standalone site shutdown and the move to Canva / Leonardo.Ai.
  • December 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. CET: the remove.bg website stops being available. Self-service API requests stop the same day.

Who this affects

  • Website users — anyone doing one-off background removal in the browser. After December 1, that workflow lives inside Canva, where Background Remover is a Canva Pro (paid) feature.
  • API users — apps, plugins, and pipelines calling the remove.bg API. Self-service requests stop; the official path is Leonardo.Ai, which has published a migration guide. (Developers: see our remove.bg API migration guide.)
  • Credit holders and subscribers — remove.bg has not stated publicly what happens to unused pay-as-you-go credits or subscriptions at shutdown. Don't let the date strand them: spend remaining credits, download invoices and usage history from your dashboard, and cancel anything you won't use.
  • Enterprise API customers — existing Enterprise contracts are not affected, per remove.bg's FAQ.

What to do before December 1

  1. Figure out which remove.bg you use. Occasional website use and an API integration lead to different replacements. Most people only need the website path.
  2. Pick a replacement and test it now. Edge quality on hair, fur, glass, and product shots is where every tool differs — test on your real images while remove.bg is still around to compare against. Our honest remove.bg alternatives comparison lays out free tiers, pricing, and privacy side by side.
  3. Use up credits and export your records. Spend remaining credits, download invoices and usage history, cancel subscriptions you won't need.
  4. API users: start the migration this month. Inventory every service that calls the API, get credentials on the new platform, and test against real traffic. Do not migrate on November 30 — see the developer migration guide.
  5. Decide what your photos are worth. Every mainstream alternative processes uploads on its servers. If you handle client photos, unreleased products, or anything sensitive, an on-device tool removes the entire "what happens to my upload" question — Deback runs the AI in your browser, so images never leave your device.

Frequently asked questions

Is remove.bg really shutting down?

Yes. remove.bg's own FAQ page says the standalone website stops being available on December 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CET. The functionality moves into Canva's platform; the API path moves to Leonardo.Ai.

What happens to my remove.bg credits?

remove.bg has not published what happens to unused credits or subscriptions at shutdown. The safe move: spend them, export your records, and cancel before the date.

Do I need a Canva account to keep removing backgrounds?

On remove.bg's path, yes — Background Remover becomes a Canva Pro (paid) feature. If you'd rather not add another subscription, free standalone alternatives exist, including Deback, which needs no account at all.

I'm a developer — where does the API go?

Leonardo.Ai (Canva-owned) is the official path and has published a migration guide. See our API migration guide for the full checklist and your options.

Is Deback affiliated with remove.bg or Canva?

No. Deback is independent — not affiliated with remove.bg, Canva, or Leonardo.Ai.

Try the free replacement now

Background removal that runs on your device — no account, no upload, no credits to expire on December 1.

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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.