What makes a redaction genuinely irreversible?

The original pixel values have to be discarded, not hidden. A solid fill written into the bitmap replaces them outright. A rectangle drawn over content in a PDF or document editor only obscures it visually while the text or image data stays in the file.

Should I use black bars or pixelation to redact?

Black bars for anything confidential. Pixelation is strong but still derived from the original pixels, whereas a solid fill contains no information about what it replaced. Use pixelation when you want the viewer to see that something was there.

Can I redact a scanned document?

Yes. Export or screenshot the page as an image, load it here, and black out the sensitive fields — names, account numbers, signatures, addresses. Because the output is a flat image, there is no text layer left to search or extract.

Does the redacted file keep other metadata?

The export is a fresh canvas render, so EXIF fields such as GPS coordinates and camera model from the original are not carried into it. That closes a second leak that catches people who redact the visible content but forget the metadata.

Redact Image — Permanently Hide Details

Why blur parts of an image?

Photos and screenshots carry more than the thing you meant to share. A bystander's face, a car registration, a house number, an email address in a screenshot header, a balance in a sidebar — any of those can identify a real person or account once the image is public. Blurring the region before you post is the only reliable fix, because you cannot recall copies after publication.

This tool flattens the effect into the exported pixels, so the hidden detail is genuinely gone from the file you download — unlike drawing a box in a document or slide deck, where the shape sits on a separate layer that anyone can drag aside. And because every pixel is processed on your own device, the unredacted original never travels anywhere.

How to blur an image

1Upload or drop your image into the tool above.
2Pick blur, pixelate, or black box, then drag a box over the detail you want to hide.
3Raise the strength slider until the detail is unreadable, and add more boxes if needed.
4Download the redacted image as PNG, JPG, or WebP.

Which effect should you use?

Blur

Averages neighbouring pixels into a smooth smear. Best for faces and backgrounds, where a soft result still looks like a natural photograph.

Pixelate

Replaces whole blocks with a single flat colour, discarding fine detail entirely. The better choice for text — plates, account numbers, addresses — because high-contrast characters can survive a light blur.

Black box

Fills the region with solid black, leaving nothing of the original to analyse. The most secure option when you need certainty rather than a subtle look.

Frequently Asked Questions

All Blur Image Tools

Blur, pixelate, or censor any part of an image — pick a tool below:

People & Privacy

Blur Face In Photo Hide Face In Photo Blur People In Photo Anonymize Photo Blur ID Card

Vehicles & Documents

Blur License Plate Blur Signature Blur Address In Photo Black Bar On Image

Text & Screenshots

Blur Text In Image Blur Screenshot Censor Image Censor Photo Blur Logo

Photo Effects

Blur Background Portrait Blur Background Pixelate Image Mosaic Image Effect Gaussian Blur Blur Part Of Image Blur Whole Image

By Format

Blur JPG Image Blur PNG Image Blur WebP Image

Platforms

Blur Image For Instagram Blur Image On iPhone Blur Image On Android

General

Blur Image Online Free Image Blur Tool Blur Photo Online Blur Picture How To Blur An Image

Related Tools

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Image Compressor Image Converter Advanced Favicon Generator Image Base64 Encoder & Decoder Image Resizer Image Border & Padding Image Cropper Image to Text Image Watermark Image Rotate & Flip