diff --git a/.env.local b/.env.local
index 3de32c5c..b90b1197 100644
--- a/.env.local
+++ b/.env.local
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # Public (used by client-side dropdown fetches)
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=https://forms.lasereverything.net
+BG_BYE_UPSTREAM=https://makearmy.io/bgbye/process
 
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Server-side Directus
diff --git a/app/api/bgbye/process/route.ts b/app/api/bgbye/process/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eb3add04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/api/bgbye/process/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+export const runtime = "nodejs";
+
+import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+
+/**
+ * Proxies multipart POSTs (file + method) to the bgbye upstream.
+ * Set BG_BYE_UPSTREAM to the FULL endpoint that accepts the form:
+ *   e.g. http://127.0.0.1:8010/process
+ *        http://localhost:8010/api/removebg
+ */
+export async function POST(req: Request) {
+    const upstream = process.env.BG_BYE_UPSTREAM;
+    if (!upstream) {
+        return NextResponse.json(
+            { error: "BG_BYE_UPSTREAM is not configured on the server" },
+            { status: 500 }
+        );
+    }
+
+    try {
+        const form = await req.formData();
+
+        // Forward the form as-is to the upstream
+        const ures = await fetch(upstream, {
+            method: "POST",
+            body: form,
+            // Let undici set boundary; don't set Content-Type manually
+        });
+
+        const contentType = ures.headers.get("content-type") || "application/octet-stream";
+        const status = ures.status;
+
+        // Stream/buffer back to the client preserving content-type
+        const ab = await ures.arrayBuffer();
+        return new Response(Buffer.from(ab), {
+            status,
+            headers: {
+                "content-type": contentType,
+                // Allow the client to see error text if upstream returns text
+                "cache-control": "no-store",
+            },
+        });
+    } catch (err: any) {
+        const msg = err?.message || String(err);
+        return NextResponse.json({ error: `Proxy error: ${msg}` }, { status: 502 });
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/api/bgremove/route.ts b/app/api/bgremove/route.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 6b4532bc..00000000
--- a/app/api/bgremove/route.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-// /app/api/bgremove/route.ts
-import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
-
-export const runtime = "nodejs";
-export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
-
-const BGBYE_URL =
-  process.env.BGBYE_URL ||
-  process.env.BG_BYE_URL ||
-  process.env.BGREMOVER_BASE_URL || // <-- support your existing env var
-  "http://bgbye:7001";
-
-export async function POST(req: Request) {
-  try {
-    const inForm = await req.formData();
-    const method = String(inForm.get("method") || "");
-    const file = inForm.get("file") as any;
-
-    // Loosen the guard: some Node/undici builds return a File-like Blob from a different realm
-    if (!file || !method) {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: "file and method are required" }, { status: 400 });
-    }
-
-    const outForm = new FormData();
-    const filename = (file as any).name || "upload";
-    outForm.set("method", method);
-    outForm.set("file", file, filename);
-
-    const res = await fetch(`${BGBYE_URL}/remove_background/`, { method: "POST", body: outForm });
-
-    const buf = await res.arrayBuffer();
-    return new NextResponse(buf, {
-      status: res.status,
-      headers: {
-        "content-type": res.headers.get("content-type") || "application/octet-stream",
-        "cache-control": "no-store",
-      },
-    });
-  } catch (err: any) {
-    return NextResponse.json({ error: String(err?.message || err) }, { status: 500 });
-  }
-}
-
diff --git a/components/utilities/BackgroundRemoverPanel.tsx b/components/utilities/BackgroundRemoverPanel.tsx
index 5e08423f..80199131 100644
--- a/components/utilities/BackgroundRemoverPanel.tsx
+++ b/components/utilities/BackgroundRemoverPanel.tsx
@@ -194,7 +194,8 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
                     fd.append("file", blobToSend);
                     fd.append("method", key);
 
-                    const res = await fetch("/api/bgremove", { method: "POST", body: fd });
+                    // CHANGED: call local proxy instead of a hardcoded service
+                    const res = await fetch("/api/bgbye/process", { method: "POST", body: fd });
                     if (!res.ok) {
                         const txt = await res.text().catch(() => "");
                         const retryable = /out of memory|onnxruntime|cuda|allocate|500/i.test(txt);
@@ -320,7 +321,8 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
                 const fd = new FormData();
                 fd.append("file", file);
                 fd.append("method", active);
-                const res = await fetch("/api/bgremove", { method: "POST", body: fd });
+                // CHANGED: call local proxy instead of a hardcoded service
+                const res = await fetch("/api/bgbye/process", { method: "POST", body: fd });
                 if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
                 const outBlob = await res.blob();
                 const ms = performance.now() - t0;
@@ -373,10 +375,10 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
             {file?.name ?? <span className="italic">— none —</span>}
             </div>
 
-            {/* Preview frame */}
+            {/* Preview frame (border removed per your note) */}
             <div
             ref={frameRef}
-            className="app-frame checkerboard relative w-full rounded-2xl border border-zinc-800/80 shadow-inner"
+            className="app-frame checkerboard relative w-full rounded-2xl shadow-inner"
             style={{ aspectRatio: `${aspect}`, maxWidth: "1200px", maxHeight: "80vh", marginInline: "auto" }}
             onDragOver={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
             onDrop={onDrop}
@@ -475,7 +477,7 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
             {pendingCount > 0 ? `Running… ${doneCount}/${METHODS.length}` : "Run all methods"}
             </button>
 
-            {/* GPU-safe toggle: sits next to Run All on mobile; keeps position naturally on larger screens */}
+            {/* GPU-safe toggle */}
             <label className="flex items-center gap-2 text-sm text-zinc-300 cursor-pointer select-none order-1">
             <input type="checkbox" checked={gpuSafe} onChange={(e) => setGpuSafe(e.target.checked)} /> GPU-safe mode
             </label>
@@ -494,7 +496,7 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
             )}
             </div>
 
-            {/* Right-side controls collapse under on mobile */}
+            {/* Right-side controls */}
             <div className="sm:ml-auto flex items-center gap-3 w-full sm:w-auto order-3">
             <input
             type="range"
@@ -536,4 +538,3 @@ export default function BackgroundRemoverPage() {
             </div>
         );
 }
-