UtilityBaseImage Tools
Image Redactor
Blackout or pixelate parts of a screenshot before sharing — safely and locally.
Updated July 8, 2026
How to use the image redactor
- 1Drop in a screenshot or photo.
- 2Choose blackout (for text) or pixelate (for faces).
- 3Drag rectangles over everything sensitive — undo if you overshoot.
- 4Download the flattened, metadata-free PNG.
Common uses
- Hiding account numbers and balances before sharing a screenshot
- Blurring faces or plates in photos posted publicly
- Censoring names and emails in bug reports and support tickets
- Cleaning up marketplace screenshots that show personal details
Frequently asked questions
Blackout or pixelate — which should I use?
Blackout for text, always: solid black is mathematically unrecoverable. Pixelation is for faces and objects where you want to show something exists without identifying it. This tool's pixelation uses deliberately coarse cells because fine pixelation of text has been reversed in research settings — if it's an account number, make it a black box.
Can someone 'un-redact' the downloaded image?
No — the export is a flattened PNG where the covered pixels simply no longer exist, and canvas export strips EXIF metadata too. This differs from redacting in document editors, where a black rectangle drawn over text famously leaves the text selectable underneath — a mistake that has embarrassed courts and governments. Flat pixels can't leak.
What do people most commonly forget to redact?
The edges: browser tabs showing other sites, bookmarks bars, taskbray icons, notification popups, usernames in window title bars, and email addresses in corner account menus. Before sharing any screenshot, scan the full perimeter — the sensitive part is rarely only the part you took the screenshot for.
Does this work on photos, not just screenshots?
Yes — same mechanics for license plates, street addresses, kids' faces, or documents caught in the background of a photo. Pixelate reads more naturally on photographic content; blackout is still right for any legible text. The export keeps the original resolution either way.
About this tool
The image redactor covers sensitive regions of screenshots and photos the right way: drag rectangles to black out or coarsely pixelate names, account numbers, emails, and faces, undo as needed, and export a flattened PNG at full resolution. Two safety properties are built in deliberately — blackout is the default because blur and fine pixelation of text can sometimes be reversed with reconstruction techniques, and the flattened export genuinely destroys the covered pixels and strips metadata, unlike the infamous PDF black-box mistake where text stays selectable underneath. Everything runs on a canvas in your browser.
Like most tools on UtilityBase, the image redactor runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server. It's free to use with no account required. Browse more image tools here.
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