Paint for Windows 11 is getting background removal

The Paint app in Windows 11 just got a lot more useful, helping you avoid using Photoshop for one more thing. Now rolling out in beta to Canary and Dev Channel Windows Insiders is a new update for Paint, bringing the option to remove the background in an image in a few simple clicks.

This new feature is coming in version 11.2306.30.0 of the application, and to use it, you just need to put the image you want in a blank paint Canvas. Then, after that, choose the new background remove button under the Image section in the toolbar. You’ll have full control over your image and will be able to use the rectangle select to choose the area to be removed. Right after, you’ll see that you’ll get a cutout of the subject you just selected.

This latest update actually replaced an unintended one. Earlier today, Windows Insiders noticed that Microsoft pushed out version 11.2306.28.0 of Paint. This version showed a banner at the top of the app that had a “Microsoft Confidential” watermark, indicating that features were confidential and that users should not share, discuss, or take screenshots of the content. Microsoft employee Brandon LeBlanc quickly took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to indicate that this was an accident and an update would come to fix it.

Microsoft has really been busy updating the Paint app over the past few months. Slowly but surely the app is becoming much more feature-complete than it was even just a few years ago. Paint got a full dark mode just a few weeks ago on August 16. No word yet on when non-Windows Insiders and those running the regular version of Windows 11 will get this feature. But, as usual, it’s usually a few weeks to a few months before Microsoft rolls out such updates to a wider audience. It’s all about gathering feedback and making sure features are bug-free, even something as small as this.