Cropping changes the frame
A crop removes pixels outside a chosen rectangle. It does not squeeze the full source into a different shape. The tool provides square, landscape, wide and portrait ratios that correspond to common cards, thumbnails and page sections.
Aspect ratio defines the shape
A 1:1 crop has equal width and height. A 16:9 crop is much wider than it is tall. The browser calculates the largest rectangle of that ratio that fits inside the source, then removes the extra width or height.
Position decides what remains
The outlined crop area can be dragged across the preview. Sliders change its size in Free mode, while the ratio presets keep a square, landscape or portrait shape. Zoom and 90-degree rotation help with phone photographs and awkward framing. The exported dimensions shown below the preview come from the actual selected area.
Leave important content breathing room
A mathematically correct crop can still feel cramped. Keep faces, text and focal objects away from the edge when the destination may apply another crop. Review the actual output rather than relying on the ratio label alone.
The source stays on the device
Canvas creates a separate cropped image in the browser. The original file is not changed or uploaded. Keep the source so another crop can be made later without repeatedly encoding an already processed copy.
Crop with the final interface in mind
A square avatar, wide article banner and portrait story each guide attention differently. Check the crop at the small size where people will actually see it, not only in the large preview. Text embedded in an image can become unreadable and should usually remain real HTML instead. If a platform applies circular masks or responsive art direction, keep essential content within a safe central area. A full editor is still better when you need perspective correction or detailed retouching.
Why the editor stays focused
Layers, filters and retouching would turn a quick crop into a small graphics application. This tool keeps a draggable selection, common ratios, zoom and quarter-turn rotation. The crop area also works from the keyboard. The ratio names describe general shapes rather than official requirements for a particular social platform. After processing, the result shows its real pixel dimensions and can move directly into the compressor, resizer or converter without another upload. Masks, perspective correction and detailed retouching still belong in software designed for those jobs.