Privacy & redact
A screenshot with a phone or ID number: redact it first?
Chat logs, ID scans, and contract photos often leave numbers on screen. The real question is not which filter looks nicer — it is whether this file should leave your device unpainted, and whether the original digits would still be readable after you paint.
Drop a chat log in a group, hand an ID scan to an agent, or photo a contract for a colleague — the frame often still holds a phone number, national ID, or address. The job is not picking a prettier filter. It is deciding whether this file should leave your device as-is.
Decide whether to paint; if yes, pick a cover that actually hides glyphs; zoom the preview until the original digits are gone.
When you must redact — and when you should not
Not every screenshot with digits needs a brush. Match the scene first:
- You are sending a chat, ticket, or support log and the other side does not need the full number — redact.
- An ID or contract only has to prove “this document exists”; nobody will audit every digit — redact, or crop the extra margin first.
- An official portal, bank, or visa desk asks for the complete ID fields — do not paint those boxes, or the pack comes back.
- The frame only shows a public shop name or your own nickname, with no ID or street address — usually skip it.
Mosaic and local blur do not support batch. Numbers sit in a different place on every image, so you paint or box them by hand, one file at a time. There is no “select ten, cover all.”
Mosaic or blur — and can the original text still be read?
Both look like a cover. They are not equally strong:
- For text — phone, ID, card numbers — start with mosaic. Blocks break the glyph. A light haze does not.
- Blur fits a face, a street sign’s shape, or a background you do not want tiled. The edge looks softer; small type often survives.
- Low intensity, a thin brush, or half a digit left open — someone can still guess the original. Zoom the preview; if you can read it, paint again.
- Unsure, and the secret is letters or digits? Mosaic.
Paint one screenshot, then send
Open Redact and treat it as a single-image job:
- Drop only this screenshot — JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF, about 20MB. More files means repeating the whole path. Do not look for a batch toggle.
- Pick mosaic or blur, then set intensity and brush size. Numbers and ID strings get mosaic. Use blur when you only need a face less recognizable.
- Paint over the number, ID, or address. Undo the last stroke or clear all if you miss. Leave a little margin so a half-digit does not peek out.
- Read the preview: are the original glyphs still obvious? If yes, enlarge the brush or raise intensity and stack a few more strokes.
- Download only after it is covered. The effect is baked into the export. The original stays on your device; painting runs in the browser.
Three leaks that survive a sloppy paint
- The same number still sits in a corner, the status bar, or a next-page peek — scan the whole frame, or crop the margin that should never have been in the shot.
- A phone original may still carry time, camera model, or GPS. Redaction re-encodes, so most EXIF does not ride along; to inspect or strip it on purpose, use EXIF Clean.
- If the portal also caps size, follow the target-KB walkthrough. If it wants one PDF, stack pages with the merge guide. Redact first, then compress or merge — do not zip the unpainted original.
Wrap-up
Before a screenshot leaves, ask three things: do you need to paint, blocks or haze, and can you still read the original. Mosaic the digits, one image at a time, and send only when the preview is unreadable. The spot changes on every file. There is no batch shortcut.
Extra
After you paint
Can I redact many screenshots in one batch?
No. Mosaic and blur do not support batch. Phone numbers, ID numbers, and faces sit in a different spot on every image, so you have to paint or box each one by hand. Open a file, cover it, download, then repeat. There is no “apply the same strokes to ten images” switch.
For a phone or ID number, should I use mosaic or blur?
Mosaic. It breaks glyphs into blocks, which is harder to read back. Blur keeps a soft outline and color — fine for a face you only want less recognizable, weak for small digits. If you are unsure and the secret is text, pick mosaic.
After I download, can someone still read the original digits?
If intensity is too low, the brush is too thin, or a half-digit peeks out, yes — people can still guess. Zoom the preview before you save. If you can still read it, paint again. A solid mosaic over the full string is the safer default for numbers.
Does painting upload my screenshot?
No. Preview and export run in the browser on your device. Mention it once and move on: you are hiding private digits, so keeping the original local is the point — not a separate workflow.