Upscayl
Open-source AI image upscaler — enhance low-resolution photos locally on your machine, no cloud required.
What should journalists know about Upscayl?
Upscayl does AI upscaling entirely on your GPU using Real-ESRGAN models via the Vulkan API. No cloud, no accounts, no network requests during processing. That's the key differentiator: your images never leave your machine. It handles up to 16x upscaling with multiple model options for different use cases — general photos, faces, anime/illustrations. Batch processing is supported. The results are genuinely useful for making low-res source material publishable, though AI upscaling inherently adds detail that wasn't in the original — something to flag in editorial contexts. The desktop app (v2.15.0, December 2024) hasn't seen a release in over a year, but the codebase remains active on GitHub with 40K+ stars. Upscayl Cloud exists as a separate paid product — the desktop app is the one that's open-source and local.
Upscaling low-resolution photos for publication. Enhancing archive images. Improving screenshot quality. Batch upscaling multiple images. Any upscaling task where images must stay local.
Creating evidence-quality images — AI upscaling adds interpolated detail that wasn't in the original. Real-time processing (it's GPU-intensive). Systems without a compatible GPU (requires Vulkan support). Mobile workflows (desktop only).
Security & Privacy
Data is scrambled while being sent to their servers
Data is scrambled when stored on their servers
Where servers are located — affects which governments can request your data
Privacy policy summary
The desktop app collects nothing and makes no network requests for processing. All computation runs locally on your GPU via the Vulkan API. No accounts, no telemetry, no analytics in the desktop version. Upscayl Cloud is a separate product with different privacy characteristics.
How to protect yourself:
Use the desktop app, not Upscayl Cloud, for sensitive images. Note that AI-upscaled images contain interpolated detail — disclose this in editorial contexts where image authenticity matters. Verify that your GPU supports Vulkan before installing. Keep the app updated for model improvements and security patches.
Open-source under AGPL-3.0, fully local processing via Vulkan GPU, no network connections, no accounts, no telemetry. Images never leave your machine. One of the few AI image tools that runs entirely offline. The separate Upscayl Cloud product does not share these properties — this rating applies only to the desktop app.
Who Owns This
Known issues
Desktop app hasn't had a release since December 2024 (v2.15.0), though GitHub activity continues. Requires a GPU with Vulkan support — won't work on older hardware or many integrated graphics. AI upscaling fundamentally adds detail that wasn't in the original image, which has editorial integrity implications. Upscayl Cloud is a separate closed-source product that processes images on remote servers — don't confuse it with the local desktop app. AGPL-3.0 license has copyleft requirements if you modify and distribute the code.
Pricing
Free (desktop app). Upscayl Cloud is a separate paid service for faster processing.
This is an editorial assessment based on publicly available information as of 2026-04-11, using our published methodology. Independent security review is pending. Security posture can change at any time. This is not a guarantee of safety.
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