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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about restoring your photos with Project Amber — from how the AI works to getting the best results from a badly damaged print.
What is Project Amber?
What is Project Amber and why was it built?
Project Amber is an AI-powered photo restoration tool. It was built out of a simple desire: to put smiles on people's faces. Restoring an old photograph — bringing someone's grandmother back into focus, filling in a face that time had worn away — felt like something worth building. The goal was to make it simple enough that anyone could do it, no technical skill required.
Why is it called "Amber"?
The name wasn't chosen by accident. Across civilizations — Greek, Roman, Norse, Chinese — amber has been treasured for its warmth and its extraordinary ability to preserve. It is a bridge between the present and the deep past, holding things in perfect detail for millions of years. That felt like exactly the right name for an app about restoring memories. Your photographs are frozen moments; Project Amber is the tool that keeps them that way.
Is this just a filter or an editing app?
No. This is genuine restoration using a multi-step AI pipeline:
- 1A vision model diagnoses what's wrong — identifying tears, fading, face count, and whether the original was color or black and white.
- 2A generative model rebuilds the image, repairing damage and reconstructing missing sections.
- 3A quality-checking model reviews the result and corrects any artifacts before you see it.
On top of that, once you have a restored result you can use Polish to paint over specific areas and either remove them entirely or blend them into the surrounding scene.
Getting Started
How do I restore a photo?
Upload a JPEG or PNG file from your device. Amber analyzes it, automatically detects the restoration mode that fits best, and processes it. You'll see the restored result in 30–60 seconds. From there, you can download it, refine it with up to 3 touch-up instructions, use Polish to clean up specific areas, or start a new restoration.
What file formats and sizes do you accept?
We accept JPEG and PNG files. For best results, upload at least 500 pixels in width or height. If you have a physical photo, scan it at the highest quality your scanner offers — Amber works better with more detail in the source.
How long does restoration take?
Most photos are done in 30–60 seconds. Occasionally a complex image may take a little longer, but you'll see a progress indicator while it processes.
What Works Best
What kinds of photos get the best results?
Amber handles two broad categories:
Older physical prints
- Black-and-white and sepia portraits
- Photos with tears, mold, scratches, or water stains
- Heavily faded prints, including reconstruction of physically missing sections
Modern digital photos
- Blurry or soft images
- Underexposed or overexposed shots
- High-ISO noise
- Faded or color-shifted photos
In both cases, results are strongest when subjects are still recognizable through the damage, and work best with single subjects or small groups (2–8 people).
Are there photos it handles less well?
Yes, and it's worth knowing going in:
- Very large group photos (15+ people) — the AI can struggle to preserve everyone accurately.
- Faces that are completely destroyed or unrecognizable — the AI will do its best but cannot invent detail that isn't there.
- Photos with heavy artistic or social media filters — the AI can mistake intentional effects for damage.
- Severely blown-out or pitch-black images where subjects are entirely lost in light or shadow.
What should I know about AI limitations before I try?
Amber uses advanced AI to analyze and restore photos. It is remarkably good, but it is not perfect. Occasionally the AI may slightly soften small faces (particularly infants or children at the edges of a frame), misread a damaged area and fill it in imperfectly, or in rare cases hallucinate a detail that wasn't in the original — an altered background, a slightly different expression, or in group photos, an occasional error in a peripheral figure. The results are almost always a meaningful improvement over the damaged original, but this is a restoration tool, not a perfect time machine. If a result doesn't look right, the refinement pass is often where the magic happens.
How the Restoration Works
What does the AI actually do to my photo?
The process has three steps:
- 1Diagnose — a vision model examines your photo and identifies the type of damage, whether edges are missing, how many faces are present, and whether the original was color or black and white.
- 2Reconstruct — a generative model rebuilds the image, repairing tears, fading, and blur while filling in any missing sections at photo edges.
- 3Quality check — a separate model reviews the result and retries automatically if something looks wrong. The final image is then sharpened and tone-balanced for a natural finish.
Does it fill in missing parts of the photo?
Yes — but only at edges where the original photo was physically torn or clearly cropped. If a figure is cut off at the edge of a portrait, Amber can extend the frame and reconstruct what was beyond the edge based on context. It won't invent people or objects that weren't there; our quality safeguards prevent that.
What kinds of damage can it repair?
- Tears, rips, and physically missing paper — including full reconstruction of missing sections
- Water stains and discoloration
- Scratches and creases
- Faded, yellowed, or low-contrast color
- Blurry faces and soft details
- Film grain and digital noise
- Color shifting and uneven tone
- Black-and-white or sepia photos can be colorized on request
Will it turn my black-and-white photo into color?
Amber detects whether your photo is truly black-and-white, sepia-toned, or originally color. If you have a confirmed black-and-white or sepia photo and you'd like it colorized, you can request that in a touch-up refinement.
Fine-Tuning Your Result
Can I adjust the restoration after I see it?
Yes — in two ways:
- 1Text refinements — submit up to 3 custom instructions ("sharpen the faces", "add more color"). Each costs 1 credit and takes 30–60 seconds.
- 2Polish — paint over a specific area and choose to remove it entirely or blend it into the surrounding scene. Useful for cleaning up artifacts, unwanted objects, or areas the AI didn't handle perfectly. Each Polish operation costs 1 credit.
What is Polish and how do I use it?
Polish lets you paint over any part of your restored photo to clean it up. Use your finger or mouse to brush over the area, then choose a mode:
- Remove — the AI fills the painted area with realistic background content that matches the surroundings.
- Blend — the AI camouflages the area, softening it into the scene without fully removing it.
Polish costs 1 credit per use and is only available on your restored result — not the original upload.
How do I write a good refinement instruction?
Be specific but conversational. "Sharpen the faces more" works better than technical jargon. "Restore more color in the grass" is clearer than "boost saturation." The AI understands natural language — write it as you'd say it to a skilled restorer.
What if the result still isn't right after refinements?
If a restoration produces a clearly wrong result — major artifacts, hallucinated figures, inverted colors — contact [email protected] and we'll refund the credit immediately, no questions. This is a passion project and we stand behind the work.
Credits & Pricing
What counts as one credit?
1 credit covers each of the following:
- One full restoration — including AI diagnosis, generative processing, quality checking, and post-processing.
- One text refinement (up to 3 per restored image).
- One Polish operation.
How much does it cost?
New accounts start with 10 free credits — no payment required to try it out. Credit packs:
- Starter — 5 credits / $9 ($1.80 each)
- Standard — 15 credits / $24 ($1.60 each)
- Archive — 40 credits / $49 ($1.23 each)
No subscription, no expiry date.
Do credits expire?
No. Credits stay on your account indefinitely. Buy when you need them and use them at your own pace.
Is there a subscription?
No subscriptions. You buy credits when you need them, and that's it.
White Glove Restoration
What is White Glove Restoration?
White Glove is a $99 human-assisted restoration service for photos that push the AI to its limits. A real person — the founder — works your photo by hand until you're satisfied. It's designed for cases the AI genuinely struggles with: fully destroyed faces, extreme physical damage, very large group photos, or any photo that's too important to leave to automation alone.
What kinds of photos is it best for?
White Glove is worth it when:
- Faces are completely unrecognizable or missing from the original
- The photo has extreme physical damage — large missing sections, severe mold, near-total fading
- Large group photos (15+ people) where the AI loses accuracy on peripheral figures
- The photo holds significant sentimental value and the result needs to be right
For most photos, the AI will do a great job at a fraction of the cost. White Glove is for the hard cases.
How does the process work?
It's straightforward:
- 1Email your photo to [email protected] with a brief description of what you're hoping to restore.
- 2We review it and confirm we can deliver — no charge until we do.
- 3Once confirmed and paid, restoration begins. You receive your result within 48 hours.
- 4Up to three revision rounds are included. If we still can't deliver, you get a full refund.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes. We won't charge you until we've reviewed your photo and confirmed we can deliver a result you'll be happy with. If after three rounds of revisions it still isn't right, you get a full refund — no questions.
Privacy & Your Photos
What happens to my photos after I upload them?
Project Amber does not store your photos. The image you upload is processed and returned to you — nothing is saved on our servers. Your memories are yours to keep. Your restoration history is saved locally in your browser for convenience, but we recommend downloading your final results since browser storage is not backed up.
Is my data private?
Yes. We do not collect or sell personal data beyond what's needed to process your order and provide support. See our Terms & Privacy page for full details.
Still have questions? Hit the Submit Feedback button in the app or email [email protected] — every message goes directly to the founder.