Before posting a photo of a street, a crowd or a document, think about what it shows. Faces, number plates, house numbers and ID details can all identify someone.
Choose the right way to hide
- Pixelate or blur works well for faces and plates.
- A black box is the strongest option. Use it for text, account numbers and ID numbers.
Light blurs can sometimes be partly undone, so for anything sensitive use a black box or a strong pixelation.
Steps
- Open the blur and pixelate tool.
- Add your picture.
- Drag a rectangle over each area to hide. Add as many as you need.
- Pick pixelate, blur or black box and download the result.
The hidden areas are changed in the saved file itself, so the original details cannot be pulled back out of it.
Also remove hidden data
A photo can carry more than what you see: the location, the time and the phone model are often stored inside the file. Run the picture through remove EXIF data before you share it.
Quick checklist
- Check the background: reflections in windows or glasses, and screens behind people.
- Cover documents on a table, such as letters with an address.
- Look at the edges of the picture, where small details hide.
- Zoom in on your finished copy to confirm nothing readable is left.
For documents, use redact PDF to black out text in a PDF in the same way.