Ever wanted to remove strangers, photobombers or even an ex-boyfriend from photos you’ve already taken? Well, a new survey we’ve done shows you’re not alone. In fact, the majority of people questioned wished their cameras could zap unwelcome photographic guests.

We all want a way to away 

The survey conducted by Redshift Research, on behalf of Nokia, found that over half of young people are more interested in having a feature on their camera phone that removes a moving object or person from their images than capturing photos underwater (25%) or taking photos with sound (7%). The survey of a thousand online participants found that half of 18-25 year-olds most want a feature on their camera phone that removes a moving object or person from their images over any other feature.

We know some of our competitors have been busy working on exactly those other features above, so we’re very happy customers like what we’re up to with Smart Cam!

Photobombs away!

It seems ‘photobombing’ is a particular issue with 60% of 18-25 year-olds who want to remove passersby from their photos finding them the most annoying, with ex-boyfriends and girlfriends being another! The survey suggests one in ten (11%) 18-25 year-olds are most likely to want to remove an ex-partner from photos they have already taken.

The survey also finds that:

• Double the number of people (of any age) would most like to have a feature on their camera phone that removes a moving object / person from their image (39%) than have a camera phone that takes photos with sound (19%)
• 45% of 25-34 year-olds would most like to have a feature on their camera phone that removes a moving object / person from their image than have a camera phone that takes photos with sound (14%) or has the ability to capture photos underwater (26%)
• 62% of people would most like to delete passers by from photos, but 9% would rather delete former partners and 3% would prefer to delete former friends
• 64% of women would most like to remove passers by from photos they have already taken, vs. 59% of men
• 15% of men would most like to remove photobombers from photos they have already taken, vs. 12% of women
• 30% of 25-34 year-olds have been photobombed, vs. only 10% of 45-54 year-olds
• 39% of women and 29% of men say they regularly have to retake a picture because of an unwanted person or object obscuring the view

The smart way to delete

Happily, with the Nokia Lumia 925, removing unwanted people and objects is easy with the Remove Object feature. Using Nokia Smart Camera, users can simply swipe up to the last photo on the list, and tap the photo. The camera automatically removes moving objects in the photo, too.

What’s more, Nokia Smart Camera also allows you to pick the faces you like best and put them in your group photo, plus convert photos of moving objects into a single dynamic photo. Combined these snazzy features, mean you’ll never have to worry about perfect pics being ruined by random strangers again.

We love these features, but what about you? Have you ever been photobombed? If so, what did you do? Let us know in the comments below.

Image credit: Magic Monkey