A screenshot can reveal much more than the detail you meant to share. Names, email addresses, account balances, tabs, notifications, timestamps, and profile photos can all turn an ordinary support question or social post into a privacy problem.
The safest way to redact a screenshot is to replace the sensitive pixels before sharing the file. Covering information with a removable shape, cropping carelessly, or applying a weak blur can leave the original detail recoverable.
Redact a screenshot in three steps
- Open the free image redaction tool and paste, drop, or choose your screenshot. The image is processed locally in your browser and is not uploaded.
- Press B or enable box mode, then drag a solid box over every private detail. Zoom in and check the edges of each selection.
- Download the new PNG. The redactions are burned into the exported pixels, and the original image metadata is not copied into the new file.
What should you remove from a screenshot?
Look beyond the obvious subject of the image. Common details to redact include:
- Full names, usernames, email addresses, and phone numbers
- Account, order, ticket, and case numbers
- Street addresses and precise locations
- API keys, access tokens, QR codes, and recovery codes
- Faces, avatars, message previews, and browser tabs
- Balances, payment details, and transaction identifiers
When sharing an error message, check the full stack trace and URL. Query strings, file paths, and environment output can contain credentials or identifying information.
Why use a solid box instead of blur?
Blur changes pixels without necessarily destroying the underlying pattern. Short text, large characters, and predictable values can sometimes be guessed or reconstructed. A correctly exported solid redaction replaces the original pixels completely.
That distinction matters: a black rectangle placed on top of an editable document may still be removable, while a box burned into a freshly rendered PNG is part of the image itself.
Check the finished screenshot
Open the downloaded file—not the editor preview—and inspect it at full size. Confirm that every private detail is covered, including text near the edges of each box. Make sure the file you attach or upload is the newly downloaded version rather than the original.
If the screenshot contains small text, use multiple precise boxes instead of one rushed selection. For related workflows, see how to black out text in an image and how to redact a photo online.