About This Site

Hi. I'm the person behind 8-Bit Photo Converter: a nerd with a soft spot for coding, tech and old games. This is a free tool that turns any photo into retro pixel art, right in your browser, with nothing ever uploaded to a server.

Why I built it

Honestly? I just needed an 8-bit version of a photo one day. I went looking for a decent generator online, couldn't find one I actually liked, and figured I'd rather build my own than settle. So I did. It's a solo side project, 100% vibe coded, and I'm quietly proud of that.

What it does

You upload a photo, pick a pixel size and a classic colour palette, and the tool re-renders your image in the blocky, limited-colour style of old games consoles and home computers. Then you download it as a PNG and do whatever you like with it. No sign-up, no watermark, no cost.

There are eight palettes to play with: Game Boy, NES, ZX Spectrum, PICO-8, Commodore 64, CGA, Black & White, and an "Original colours" mode that pixelates your photo while keeping its own colours.

Privacy comes first

All the image processing happens locally in your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API, which means your photos never leave your device. I can't see them, store them or share them, because they never reach me in the first place. That was a deliberate choice. I wanted something I'd be happy to use with my own personal photos, and that meant no uploads. You can read the full details in the privacy policy.

Why the retro thing runs deep

The palettes aren't just a gimmick to me. The Commodore 64 was my second ever computer and the machine I first started coding on, aged seven, so this whole aesthetic is basically where I grew up. Funnily enough, building the converter and going back through these old palettes reminded me just how few colours we actually had to work with back then. It gave me a fresh bit of respect for the artists who made those early games look as good as they did.

How it's made

The site is deliberately lightweight: plain HTML, CSS and vanilla JavaScript, with no frameworks or build step. That keeps it fast and reliable on just about any device, from a phone to a desktop, and it's part of why it loads quickly and keeps working once the page is open. Google Analytics and AdSense support the website, as explained in the website privacy section.

A mobile app, too

I'm also developing 8-Bit Studio for iOS and Android, with live retro camera effects, photo editing, GIF capture and photo puzzles. The app is currently in testing. The website continues as its own free browser tool, with its game, guides, palettes and gallery. For the app, see mobile support and mobile privacy.

Say hello

If you've got a feature idea, spotted a bug, or just want to show me something you made, I'd genuinely like to hear it. Head over to the contact page and drop me a line.