Guide
Blur vs pixelation vs redaction: what actually removes sensitive information?
Blur and pixelation can make screenshot text harder to read, but they do not always remove the underlying information safely.
Quick answer
Blur and pixelation make text harder to read, but they do not reliably remove the underlying information. A solid blackout redaction is the safe choice for sensitive details because the exported pixels replace the original content with no clue left to reconstruct.
Captorify offers all three as redaction modes (Pro), and bakes each one permanently into the export. The honest rule: blackout for secrets and Identifiable Information (PII), blur or pixelate only for cosmetic or low-risk areas.
Blur method
Blur applies a Gaussian filter that spreads each pixel into its neighbors. It looks like the text is gone, but the filter is a known, often reversible transform. Short or predictable text in a familiar font can sometimes be reconstructed or guessed from the blurred shape.
Use blur to soften a face or a non-secret label, not to hide a password, token, or account number.
Pixelation method
Pixelation averages regions into blocks. With coarse blocks, a small character set, or a predictable layout, the block pattern can still reveal enough to guess the original value, especially for digits and short strings.
Like blur, pixelation is fine for cosmetic obscuring but is not a guarantee that the content cannot be recovered.
Permanent redaction method
A blackout draws solid, opaque pixels over the area, replacing the original content entirely. There is no underlying signal left to reverse, so it is the only one of the three that truly removes the information.
Captorify composites blackout into the exported image, so the covered content is gone from the file you send rather than hidden behind a movable shape.
Reproducible sample lab
You can test this yourself: take a screenshot of a known string, apply blur to one copy, pixelate another, and black out a third. Compare how much you can still infer from each. Blurred and pixelated short strings are often surprisingly guessable; the blackout copy reveals nothing.
This is the practical reason the safe-by-default choice for anything sensitive is blackout.
What to use for PII and secrets
For anything that would cause harm if recovered, use blackout: API keys, tokens, passwords, account and card numbers, email addresses, and internal hostnames.
- Secrets and credentials: blackout, always.
- Personal data (names, emails, IDs): blackout.
- Faces or non-secret labels you just want softened: blur or pixelate is acceptable.
- When in doubt: blackout, because it cannot leak.
FAQ
Common questions.
Short answers about capture, privacy, sharing, and billing.