Background Removal Plugin

A CE.SDK plugin that removes the background from images directly in the browser, with no server upload and no external API call. The entire removal process runs locally on the user’s device using WebAssembly and WebGPU, which means images never leave the client: a meaningful privacy and cost advantage over cloud-based background removal services.

Because processing happens entirely on-device, no image data is transmitted to any external server at any point during the background removal workflow.

This makes the plugin appropriate for products operating under strict data privacy requirements: healthcare platforms, enterprise tools, legal document workflows, or any context where user-uploaded images must not leave the browser environment. There is no third-party service involved, no data retention risk, and no dependency on an external API’s availability or terms.

Cloud-based background removal services typically charge per image processed. For products where users remove backgrounds frequently (e-commerce sellers uploading product photos, social platforms where background removal is a standard editing step, or print tools that process hundreds of images per session), per-image costs accumulate quickly.

Because the Background Removal Plugin runs on the user’s device, there is no per-image processing cost regardless of volume. The compute is contributed by the user’s own hardware, making the feature economically viable at any scale without infrastructure investment.

The plugin integrates with CE.SDK through the standard Plugin API and, once added to an editor instance, automatically registers a background removal button in the Canvas Menu for any selected block that contains an image fill.

When a user clicks the button, the plugin handles the full workflow: exporting the image from the current scene, running it through the on-device AI model using the background-removal-js library and an ONNX runtime, and applying the result back to the block with the background replaced by a transparent layer, all without leaving the browser tab.

The background removal button is added to the Canvas Menu by default when the plugin is configured with a canvas menu location. Placement is configurable: it can be positioned elsewhere in the editor UI, or omitted from default UI surfaces and triggered programmatically instead.

• E-commerce product photography: isolating a product against white or transparent for marketplace listings.
• Profile photo workflows: removing cluttered backgrounds before upload to a directory or identity system.
• Collage and compositing tools: extracting a subject to layer over a different background.
• Web-to-print: keeping image quality and file handling within the browser without a server round-trip.
• Enterprise platforms: where the combination of zero upload cost and zero data exposure makes client-side processing the only viable option.