Blur text in image.
Hide names, numbers and messages before you share.
Drag a box over the words, pick blur, pixelate or a solid black box, and download. It runs in your browser, so the screenshot you are cleaning up never gets uploaded anywhere.
Soft and natural. Fine for names and faces.
To blur text in image files, drag a box over the words, choose Blur or Pixelate, and download the new image; this tool does it in your browser for free without uploading anything. Blur and pixelate stop casual readers. For passwords, card numbers and addresses, use the black box, because pixelated text can sometimes be reconstructed.
What hiding text in a picture is for
To blur text in image files is to make chosen words unreadable while the rest of the picture stays clear, so you can share a screenshot or photo without sharing everything in it. The usual targets are names, email addresses, phone numbers, order and tracking numbers, home addresses and private messages. People do it before posting a bug report, a chat for context, a product complaint, a how-to with a real account on screen, or a photo where a sign or a screen gives away more than intended.
The result is a new, flat image. The pixels inside each box are replaced, not covered by a layer, so there is nothing underneath to reveal by editing the file. That is the difference from drawing a shape over text in a PDF or a slide, where the original words can often still be selected.
Blur, pixelate or black box: which one actually hides text?
Blur and pixelate hide text from people glancing at an image. A black box hides it from everyone. Pick by what happens if the text is read.
- ·Blurlooks the most natural and is fine for names in a group photo, faces, notification previews and a colleague’s email in a screenshot of a ticket.
- ·Pixelatereads clearly as “censored” and suits the same jobs. It is not a security measure: each block is the average of the pixels under it, so short, predictable text in a known font can be guessed back. The open-source tool Depix recovered passwords from pixelated screenshots this way.
- ·Black box replaces the pixels with solid black, so nothing of the original survives. Use it for passwords, card and account numbers, recovery codes, ID numbers and home addresses.
- ·Cropping beats all three when the sensitive part sits at an edge: what is not in the image cannot leak.
Whatever you choose, check the rest of the image before sharing. The same email or number often appears twice: in a tab title, the address bar, an avatar, a reply quote or a reflection.
Three screenshots people clean up before sharing
Each one uses a different mode, matched to what would happen if the hidden text were read.
Before
AfterA bug report screenshot with a customer's email in it
The checkout error you're filing on a public GitHub issue shows up in a screenshot of the admin panel, and the panel shows the customer's name, email and last four card digits. Drag one box over the customer details and leave the error message readable. Blur is enough here: the goal is that nobody browsing the issue can read the address, not to defeat a determined attacker.
Before
AfterA group chat you're sharing as an example
You want to show how a team uses a new feature, and the clearest example is a real group chat. Pixelate the names, phone numbers and profile photos, keep the messages that make the point. Check the parts people forget: a name in the chat title, initials in an avatar, a number in a quoted reply. Pixelation stops a casual reader; if the chat is going somewhere public, use the Black box on the phone number instead.
Before
AfterA shipping label in a photo of the wrong item you received
The seller asks for a photo of the parcel before they refund you, and you also want to post it in a review. The label carries your name, home address and a tracking barcode. One black box covers all three: an address is exactly the kind of text that should not survive in any form.
How to blur text in a picture in three steps
- Drop a screenshot or photo into the tool above, or tap to choose one from your phone. PNG, JPEG, WebP and HEIC all open.
- Pick Blur, Pixelate or Black box, then drag a box over each piece of text. Draw it slightly larger than the letters. Undo removes the last box; the Strength slider changes how strong blur and pixelate are.
- Zoom in to check nothing is still readable, then download. The file keeps the original format: a JPEG comes back as a JPEG, anything else as a PNG.
This tool is not the right one when you want the text to disappear as if it was never there, as on a product photo or a meme template. A blurred patch draws the eye; removing the text and rebuilding the background does not.
Frequently asked questions
How do I blur text in an image?+
Open the picture in the tool at the top of this page, drag a box over each piece of text you want to hide, choose Blur, Pixelate or Black box, and download the result. It takes a few seconds, works on screenshots and photos, and needs no account. Draw the box a little larger than the text so the edges of the letters are covered too. Before you share it, zoom in and check that nothing in the box is still readable.
Is my image uploaded when I blur text in it?+
No. The blur is applied inside your browser, and the image never leaves your device: there is no upload, no sign-in and no copy kept on a server. The download is a new file drawn from the edited canvas, so camera details stored in the original photo, such as GPS location, are not carried over either. That makes it safe for screenshots of private messages or work tools.
Can blurred or pixelated text be read again?+
Sometimes, yes. Pixelation is a fixed averaging of the pixels under each block, so if someone knows the font and the kind of text (a password, a phone number), they can render guesses and compare them; the open-source tool Depix recovered passwords from pixelated screenshots this way. Light blur can be partly reversed too. For anything that matters if it's read, use the Black box, which replaces those pixels with solid black so nothing of the original remains.
Should I blur or pixelate a password in a screenshot?+
Neither: black it out or crop it away. Blur and pixelate are designed to stop a casual reader, not someone who wants the secret, and passwords, card numbers, account numbers and recovery codes are short, predictable strings that are the easiest to reconstruct. Use the Black box mode, then check the rest of the screenshot for the same value in a tab title, address bar or notification.
How do I pixelate part of an image?+
Choose Pixelate, then drag a box over each area you want to turn into blocks; everything outside the boxes stays sharp. The Strength slider sets the block size: low values keep a rough shape visible, high values turn a line of text into a few flat squares. Pixelate works for faces, logos and licence plates as well as text.
Can I blur text in a screenshot on my iPhone?+
Yes. Open this page in Safari, tap the upload area and pick the screenshot from your photo library, drag boxes with your finger, and tap Download. Safari saves the file to Downloads in the Files app; from there, Share and then Save Image puts it back in Photos. HEIC photos from the camera open too.
Does blurring remove the text from the file, or just cover it?+
It removes it. The download is a flat image in which the pixels inside each box have been replaced, not a layer sitting on top of the original, so there is nothing to peel back. That is different from covering text with a shape in a PDF or a slide, where the original text can often still be selected and copied.
What if I want the text gone completely instead of blurred?+
Use the text remover instead: you paint over the words and AI rebuilds the background behind them, so the picture looks as if the text was never there. That suits product photos, memes and slides where a blurred patch would look odd. For sensitive information in screenshots, a black box is still the safer choice, because it doesn't depend on how well anything was rebuilt.
“Is it safe to pixelate a password in a screenshot, or should I black it out?”
For product photos, memes and slides, where a blurred patch looks wrong: paint over the words and the background is rebuilt.
For docs and demos, swap a customer’s name for a placeholder in the app’s own font instead of hiding it.
Hiding your own details is fine. Altering payment, chat or booking screenshots to mislead someone is not.
Further reading
- WikipediaPixelization↗
How pixelation works, and where it is used to obscure faces, licence plates and text in photos and video.
- GitHubDepix: recovering passwords from pixelized screenshots↗
The proof-of-concept that showed pixelated text in a known font can be reconstructed by rendering candidates and comparing blocks. The reason this page recommends a black box for secrets.
- WikipediaSanitization and redaction↗
Background on redacting sensitive information before a document or image is released, and why hiding text is a separate step from sharing it.
Hide it before you hit send.
Blur text nowBlur and pixelate hide text from casual viewers; for passwords and account numbers, use the black box. Only edit images you have the right to share, and don’t use edits to mislead anyone. See our Acceptable Use Policy.