Redact & Blur Image
Drag over what must not be seen. For ID and account numbers use the solid box; pixelation is for faces and backgrounds.
Solid box vs. pixelation
Semi-transparent paint and light blurs can sometimes be read back by raising the contrast. A solid box replaces the pixels with one colour, so the saved file contains nothing to recover. Pixelation shrinks the area to a few cells and scales it back up; it removes most detail, but research has shown that short strings with a known length, such as numbers, can sometimes be estimated from a mosaic. Use pixelation for faces and backgrounds, and the solid box for numbers and signatures.
What people cover
National ID digits, passport numbers, account numbers, all but the first six and last four card digits, signatures and children's faces. Keep whatever the recipient actually needs, such as the name and date of birth, or the document will be rejected.
Combine with a watermark
After redacting, stamp 'for X only · date' with the Image Watermark tool so the copy is hard to reuse. Redact first, then watermark.
For PDFs
Export the page with PDF → Image, redact it here, then rebuild with Images → PDF. Drawing a box on top of a PDF leaves the text underneath intact and is unsafe.
Tips for common situations
Permanent Credential Redaction in Screenshots
Pixel values are permanently overwritten rather than masked with removable vector shapes, so credentials cannot be recovered in any editor. All metadata including camera model and location is stripped automatically from the final export.
Private Document Redaction in Browser
Sensitive documents are processed entirely inside your browser and never transmitted over the internet. Draw boxes precisely over specific lines of text without obscuring mandatory totals or dates that must remain visible.
Face Pixelation in Group Photos
Use the undo button or clear all to easily redo any incorrectly placed pixelation boxes. Areas outside the masked regions retain their original resolution and quality in the saved file.
Tried with a sample file
Screens and numbers from actually running this tool with a sample file with no personal data (2026-10-06, Chromium-based browser on a Mac). Results vary with your input and device.
On a 3600×2400 sample photo, we dragged a box over the area where a phone was placed, and it was covered with a black box. The downloaded file remained 3600×2400 at 1.04 MB. Redaction styles include black box, mosaic, and white box, with undo and clear-all controls.
Redacted areas are permanently altered at the pixel level and cannot be recovered after download. Before downloading, use the undo button to make corrections.
Frequently asked
Is the image uploaded?
No. Redaction and saving finish inside your browser.
I covered the wrong spot
Undo removes the last box; Clear all removes every box. The original is untouched until you save.
What about EXIF location data?
The result is redrawn through a canvas, so capture location and date metadata are not carried over.
Can I redact multiple different areas on the same image?
Yes, you can drag to cover as many areas as you need before saving the result.
Is it possible to uncover the redacted area later?
No, the pixels are permanently overwritten, so the hidden content cannot be recovered from the saved file.
Does it automatically blur faces or license plates?
No, there is no automatic detection. You must manually drag over the areas you want to cover.
Can I use this to redact text in a PDF document?
No, this tool only opens and edits image files like JPG, PNG, and WebP, not PDFs.