How to pixelate or censor parts of an image

Before sharing a screenshot or a photo, you often need to hide something: a face, a license plate, an account number or an address. Pixelating or censoring that area is the fastest and safest way to protect people's privacy and your own data. Here is how to do it properly.

When you should censor an image

• When posting screenshots of chats with names or phone numbers.
• When selling a car or motorbike and showing the license plate.
• When sharing photos with minors or people who did not consent.
• When showing documents with bank details or ID numbers.

Pixelating vs. covering with a box

A solid black box hides the information 100%, but it looks rough. Pixelation looks more natural, though if the effect is too light, the information can sometimes be guessed. For truly sensitive data (numbers, readable text), use heavy pixelation or a solid block; that way you make sure nobody can recover it.

One more step: remove metadata too

Remember that pixelating hides what is visible, but the photo may still store hidden data such as GPS location. For complete privacy, also run the image through our clean-metadata tool before publishing it.