Comparison
Smart Blur vs BlurWeb: which blur extension to use
BlurWeb is one of the better-known blur extensions, with about 10,000 users on the Chrome Web Store. It focuses on blurring by hand, and does it well: click an element, draw an area, blur selected text, hide tab titles, and keep your blurs on a page when you come back. It needs a paid licence.
Smart Blur has the same hand tools on its free plan, and adds the part BlurWeb doesn’t describe: finding personal data on the page by itself.
We make Smart Blur. Everything below about BlurWeb comes from its website and Chrome Web Store listing as of 26 October 2026.
The short version
Most of what BlurWeb’s listing describes is free in Smart Blur. The exception is keeping blurs on a page across visits, which is part of Smart Blur Pro. On top of that, Smart Blur blurs emails, phone numbers and cards automatically, lets you add your own ID formats, and in Pro adds Local AI, Share Shield and a blurred Screenshot button.
What Smart Blur adds
The hand tools are free
Click to blur an element, draw a box over an area, blur just the text you select, hide tab titles and icons, adjust the blur strength and clear the page in one click. All free in Smart Blur, with no licence and no account.
It finds personal data by itself
Blurring by hand depends on you seeing everything first. Smart Blur’s Patterns blur email addresses, phone numbers, card numbers, US Social Security numbers and IP addresses as a page loads, and as new content appears, such as a new message arriving mid-call. BlurWeb’s listing doesn’t describe automatic detection.
Your own ID formats, in plain words or regex
Custom patterns cover the identifiers only your company uses. Describe one in plain words (“starts with POL, then 8 letters or numbers”) or write a regular expression, test it against real text, and limit it to certain sites. Free, with no limit. See blur your own ID formats with custom patterns.
Keywords to hide
Add names you never want on screen to Keywords to hide, and Smart Blur blurs them wherever they appear, on any site or only the ones you choose.
Local AI, Share Shield and Screenshot (Pro)
Local AI finds names and street addresses written in ordinary sentences, running entirely on your computer after a one-time download. Share Shield switches blurring on in every tab when you start sharing from the browser, in Google Meet, Zoom on the web or Teams on the web, and off when you stop. Screenshot captures the page with the blur already in it. None of these appear in BlurWeb’s listing.
Where BlurWeb is the better choice
- Firefox and Edge. BlurWeb lists Chrome, Firefox and Edge. Smart Blur runs on Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers, but not Firefox.
- Saved blurs come with the licence. BlurWeb’s Keep Blur is part of its licence; in Smart Blur, saving blurs per page is part of Pro.
- More users and reviews: about 10,000 users and a 4.0 rating from 119 reviews, against Smart Blur’s 4.8 from 12.
Side by side
| Smart Blur | BlurWeb | |
|---|---|---|
| Click and area blur | Free | Licence |
| Blur selected text | Free | Licence |
| Hide tab titles | Free | Licence |
| Adjustable blur strength | Free | Licence |
| Keep blurs on a page across visits | Pro | Licence |
| Finds emails, cards and more by itself | Free | Not stated |
| Keywords to hide | Free, unlimited | Not stated |
| Custom patterns, plain words or regex | Free, unlimited | Not stated |
| On-device AI for names and addresses | Local AI (Pro) | Not stated |
| Turns on when you share from the browser | Share Shield (Pro) | Not stated |
| Screenshot with the blur in it | Pro | Not stated |
| Firefox | No | Yes |
| Price model | Free, or Pro yearly or one-time | Paid licence |
Which to choose
Choose Smart Blur if you’d rather not pay for blurring by hand, want personal data found automatically, or have your own ID formats to hide.
Choose BlurWeb if you use Firefox, or blur by hand only and want saved blurs included in a single licence.
For how Smart Blur compares with the other popular blur extensions, see Smart Blur compared.
Checked on 26 October 2026 against BlurWeb’s website and Chrome Web Store listing. If something has changed, email support@smartbuildlabs.com and we’ll correct it.