Affinity (Serif)

Affinity offers on-device machine learning tools in Affinity Photo (version 2.6, released February 2025) that automatically detect and select objects or the primary subject within an image, helping designers make complex selections faster.

The Object Selection Tool uses a segmentation machine learning model to identify and highlight individual objects in a photo when the user hovers over them. The Select Subject feature uses a saliency machine learning model to automatically identify the most prominent subject in the scene. Both models are optional, must be downloaded by the user, run entirely on-device (no data leaves the user's device), and are pre-trained — they do not use user data for further training. The features require Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Ventura or later, or Windows x64/ARM64 hardware running Windows 10 or 11.

Affinity integrated Canva's AI-powered Remove Background tool into the Affinity application (version 3.0, launched October 2025) through the Canva AI Studio panel, available to users with a paid Canva subscription.

The Remove Background tool uses AI to automatically detect and separate the primary subject of an image from its background, producing a masked or cut-out result without manual selection. It is part of the Canva AI Studio feature set in Affinity v3 and requires a paid Canva plan. Affinity has stated that processing is conducted with privacy controls in place and that users' creative work is not used to train AI models.

Affinity integrated Canva's AI-powered Super Resolution and Depth Estimation tools into Affinity v3 (launched October 2025) through the Canva AI Studio panel, available to users with a paid Canva subscription.

Super Resolution uses AI to upscale images to a higher resolution while preserving detail, a task previously requiring manual resampling or third-party tools. Depth Estimation (also called Select Sampled Depth) uses AI to generate a depth map from a 2D image, enabling depth-aware selections and effects. Both features are part of the Canva AI Studio in Affinity v3 and require a paid Canva plan (Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education). These run via Canva's online infrastructure and require an internet connection.