Blur vs Pixelate: Which Is Safer for Hiding Text in Screenshots?
Light blur can sometimes be reversed. Here’s how to hide passwords, keys and emails properly.
The safest way to hide text in a screenshot is to cover it with a solid filled box, or to crop it out. Strong pixelation with large blocks is also effective for short strings. Light blur is the weakest option, because blurred text can sometimes be partly reconstructed. In ClickSnap, use the rectangle tool with a solid fill, or the pixelate tool at a high strength.
The short version
| Method | How safe | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| Solid filled box | Safest | Passwords, API keys, card numbers |
| Crop it out | Safest | Anything you don’t need to show at all |
| Strong pixelate (large blocks) | Good | Names, emails, short strings |
| Light blur | Weakest | Softening backgrounds, not secrets |
Why light blur isn’t enough
Blur mixes each pixel with its neighbours, but much of the original information is still there. For short, predictable text such as numbers, keys and emails, people have reconstructed blurred or finely pixelated text by comparing it against candidates. A solid box leaves nothing to reconstruct.
How to redact in ClickSnap
Solid box (safest)
- Choose the Rectangle tool (R).
- Set a fill colour and draw over the text.
Pixelate
- Choose Rectangle Blur / Pixelate (X).
- Drag over the text.
- Raise the strength so letters become a few large blocks.
Blur brush: good for softening backgrounds or faces at a distance. Avoid it for secrets.
When you export or copy, the covered pixels are replaced in the image. Nothing is uploaded at any point.
Before you share, check
- Browser tabs and bookmarks bar (account names, internal tools)
- URLs with tokens or IDs
- Notification pop-ups
- Reflections of other windows in dark-mode screenshots
More in the redaction guide.
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