Rules you can audit
AI detection is probabilistic: it catches things you did not list and misses things you assumed it would catch. Blurr.ing’s 34 presets and keyword rules are deterministic, so what gets hidden is exactly what you configured.
Comparison · Blurr.ing vs Smart Blur
Blurr.ing compared with Smart Blur
Smart Blur takes a genuinely different approach: a local AI model that recognizes names and addresses by context. The honest comparison is mechanism against mechanism, and what each tool publishes about its price.
Updated August 2026
Quick answer
Smart Blur detects sensitive content with an on-device AI model (names, addresses, organizations, in four languages), auto-activates when a Meet, Zoom Web or Teams share starts, and gates both behind a Pro tier whose price its site does not publish. Blurr.ing detects with 34 documented pattern presets plus custom keywords, adds Tab Privacy and restore before first paint, runs on four Chromium browsers instead of Chrome alone, and publishes its prices: free manual blurring, then $5 a month, $29 a year, or $39 once.
What is Smart Blur?
Smart Blur (Smart Build Labs, Toronto) is a Chrome extension that blurs sensitive parts of web pages, with click-to-blur and draw-to-blur, one-click presets for emails, SSNs, credit cards and phone numbers, per-URL rule persistence, and, in its Pro tier, on-device AI detection of names, addresses and organizations (English, German, Italian, French) that works offline after the model downloads, plus Auto-Shield, which activates when a supported screen share starts. Its site states plainly that it cannot help when the screen is shared from a desktop app.
As of August 28, 2026, its Chrome Web Store listing showed 86 users, a 4.8 star rating from 8 ratings, and version 1.3.0, updated August 10, 2026.
Source: smartbuildlabs.com/apps/smart-blur and its Chrome Web Store listing.
Feature by feature
Blurr.ing and Smart Blur, side by side
| Feature | Blurr.ing | Smart Blur |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free + Premium: $5/mo, $29/yr, $39 once | Free + Pro one-time, amount not published |
| Manual blurs | Box, element, and text selection | Click and draw |
| AI entity detection | No | Yes, on-device (Pro) |
| Pattern/keyword redaction | 34 documented presets + custom rules | Presets: emails, SSNs, cards, phones |
| Detection languages | Pattern-based, language-neutral formats | English, German, Italian, French (AI) |
| Share-triggered activation | No (rules are always-on instead) | Auto-Shield on Meet/Zoom Web/Teams (Pro) |
| Applied before first paint | Yes | Not advertised |
| Tab Privacy | Yes, 17 disguise styles | Not available |
| Browsers | Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc | Chrome only |
| Works offline | Yes, blur engine is local | Yes, after the model downloads |
Comparison compiled August 28, 2026 from each product's public website and Chrome Web Store listing. Smart Blur features and pricing may change; check their site for the latest. A check marks the side a row genuinely favors, whichever side that is.
The case for Blurr.ing
Where Blurr.ing earns the switch
A price you can read
Blurr.ing publishes every price on its pricing page, $5, $29, or $39 once. Smart Blur’s Pro price is not published on its site or listing, so you learn the cost after installing.
Beyond the page itself
Tab Privacy masks your other tab titles and favicons, and pre-paint restore keeps a reload from flashing hidden content. Both are areas Smart Blur’s materials do not cover.
When Smart Blur might be the better fit
- You want ML detection of names, addresses and organizations without sending anything to a server.
- You present in German, Italian or French and want contextual detection in those languages.
- You like the idea of blurring that switches itself on the moment a screen share starts.
Both tools can be installed side by side, so trying the two against your own pages is a five-minute experiment rather than a commitment.
More comparisons
FAQ
Blurr.ing vs Smart Blur, answered
How does on-device AI detection differ from keyword and preset rules?
Smart Blur runs a language model locally (via WebGPU) that recognizes entities like names, addresses and organizations by context, in English, German, Italian and French; that detection is a Pro feature. Blurr.ing uses deterministic rules: 34 documented presets that match patterns (emails, card numbers, IBANs, API keys, crypto wallets) plus your own keywords with AND/OR/NOT. The AI approach can catch a name it has never seen; the rule approach tells you exactly what it will and will not hide before you present. Different mechanisms, honestly different strengths.
What does Smart Blur cost?
Its site describes Pro as a one-time purchase ("you pay once and keep using the Pro features") but does not publish the amount anywhere we could find, on the site or the store listing, as of August 28, 2026. Blurr.ing publishes its prices: free manual blurring, then $5 a month, $29 a year, or $39 once.
Which tool covers more browsers?
Smart Blur is Chrome-only. Blurr.ing runs on Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc. Neither ships a Firefox version.
What is Auto-Shield, and does Blurr.ing have it?
Auto-Shield is Smart Blur’s Pro feature that activates blurring automatically when a Google Meet, Zoom Web or Teams screen share starts. Blurr.ing has no share-detection trigger; its model is that your rules and saved blurs are already applied before the call, and restored before the page first paints, so there is nothing to switch on mid-share. If you specifically want share-triggered activation, Smart Blur is the one that advertises it.