How to Hide Sensitive Information in a Screenshot

What counts as sensitive in a screenshot

A screenshot shows more than the thing you meant to share. Before you send one, scan it for anything you would not post publicly:

• Names, email addresses and phone numbers, including other people’s
• Passwords, one-time codes, API keys and access tokens
• Account, card and invoice numbers
• Web addresses that contain a token or a private link
• Usernames in file paths, and computer or server names
• Notifications, open tabs and bookmarks in the background
• Private messages that appear beside the part you wanted

Blur, pixelate or cover: which one hides data?

Blur and pixelate reduce detail. They do not remove it. Tools exist that can recover or guess text from a pixelated or lightly blurred region, and the risk is highest for short, predictable text such as a number, a name or a code, and for text in a known font.

A bigger blur is safer than a small one, but there is no setting that is guaranteed. The only dependable method is to cover the information with a fully opaque shape and make sure that shape is saved into the image itself.

Hide information with QuickSnap

QuickSnap labels its blur (U) and pixelate (B) tools “not secure” on purpose, so for anything private use solid redaction:

1. Press Print Screen and drag over the area you want.
2. Choose the solid redaction tool (press X) and drag over each piece of private information. Leave a small margin around the text.
3. Press Enter to copy the image, or Ctrl+S to save it.
4. Open the saved image and check it, as described below.

Rules that work in any tool

• Cover, do not soften, when the information matters. Use a fully opaque shape (100 percent), not a semi-transparent one.
• Cover the whole value and a little more. A bracket or the tail of a long key left uncovered can still give it away.
• Export one flat image. If you send a layered file or a document with shapes drawn on top, the original can still be underneath.
• Crop instead of covering when you can. Removing the area from the picture is safer than hiding it.
• If a real secret was visible, change it. A password, key or token that has been shown should be treated as exposed even if you hide it later.

Check before you send

1. Open the saved file, not the editor preview, and zoom to 100 percent.
2. Look at every covered area and at the edges around it.
3. Scan the whole image once more for anything you missed: tabs, notifications, file paths.
4. Ask whether someone could reconstruct the hidden text from what remains, such as a nearby label or a partial value.