Guide
How to redact a screenshot permanently
To remove private text from a screenshot, replace the complete sensitive region with opaque pixels and export a new image. Open that exported file and inspect it before sending. Blur, a translucent marker or an editable cover layer is not the same operation.
Redact and verify the actual export
- Choose the smallest useful image
Crop away unrelated content first. Keep enough context for the recipient to understand the task.
- Cover the full sensitive region
Use a solid opaque rectangle over the whole value, with extra space around its edges. Check line wraps and repeated occurrences.
- Export a new PNG
Use the flattened image export. Give it a neutral filename so the filename itself does not reveal private information.
- Reopen the saved file
Inspect the entire export at 100%, then zoom into each covered region. Send this checked file rather than the original or an editable project.
Practice with a fake customer and fake key
The example input contains Alex Example, [email protected] and DEMO_ONLY_NOT_A_REAL_API_KEY_1234. Cover the details that are unnecessary for a support handoff while keeping the disabled Export button and date range readable.
Choose blackout for information removal
Blur and pixelation transform an existing signal. Small values may remain legible or distinguishable, especially when the possible values are known. A filled highlight can still be partly transparent.
With Black selected, the public redactor replaces covered source pixels with opaque black in a new PNG. The untouched original on your device remains a separate file.
Review outside the rectangles too
Check usernames, URLs, browser tabs, document titles, QR codes, account menus and information repeated elsewhere. Removing one identifier does not necessarily prevent identification from the remaining context.
If you already copied OCR text or sent an earlier version, a new redacted image does not remove those other copies. Review each artifact independently.
Use the redacted image for the next step
Convert the checked PNG if you need a PDF or add a frame if you need a presentation image. Returning to the original screenshot for those steps can reintroduce the information you removed.
The free public redactor also offers Find suggestions for printed English text. Review each suggestion, cover anything it missed and check the exported file before using it elsewhere.
Inspect the actual downloaded redaction
We loaded the example dashboard into the public redactor and covered the invented name, email and complete fake key. The image below is the newly exported PNG, not a screenshot of editing rectangles.
Download it, zoom into the covered edges and compare with the original practice input. This verifies the demonstrated regions only. It does not establish that any arbitrary screenshot has no remaining private information.
