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Blur, pixelate or redact?

Blur and pixelate in InnoShot are cosmetic and can sometimes be reversed, while redaction is permanent. Learn which to use and what to check.

Updated

InnoShot gives you three ways to hide part of a screenshot. They can look similar on screen, but they behave very differently, and the difference matters whenever the content is sensitive.

At a glance

Blur Pixelate Redact
What it does Softens the area Turns the area into large blocks Covers the area with a solid, opaque box
Kind Cosmetic Cosmetic Permanent in exports
Can the original be recovered from an export? Sometimes Sometimes No
Use it for Reducing visual clutter A stylized look for non-sensitive detail Passwords, tokens, account numbers, personal data

Cosmetic versus permanent

Blur and pixelate change how an area looks. They are good for reducing noise, such as a busy sidebar or placeholder data in a demo, when it would not matter if someone worked out what was underneath.

Redaction removes the information. A redaction box is always fully opaque, and when you export, it is flattened into the image: the pixels under the box are replaced by the box itself.

Why blur and pixelate can be reversed

Blur and pixelate keep a trace of the original. Every blurred or pixelated block is still built from the pixels that were there. When the hidden content is text in a known font and size, someone can try candidate text, apply the same effect and compare the results. Security researchers have reconstructed text from pixelated and blurred images in this way.

Never use blur or pixelate for passwords, API keys, tokens, account or card numbers, or anything else that must stay secret. Use redaction.

Where redaction is applied

  • PNG, JPEG and WebP: the redaction is flattened into the image.
  • PDF: the image on every page is flattened, redactions included.
  • SVG: annotations stay as vectors, but the image underneath is a flattened raster with the redactions burned in. The original screenshot is never embedded.
  • Magnifier: a magnifier never shows redacted pixels, even when you place it over a redacted area. The same applies to the scale emphasis in Spotlight.

Project files keep the original pixels

Editable project files (.innoshot) keep the original screenshot on purpose, so you can still move or remove a redaction later. That also means the hidden content is still inside the file.

When you save a project file that contains redactions, InnoShot warns you and offers Apply redactions to source. This burns the redactions into the stored image. It cannot be undone: the original image is replaced, and the pixels under the boxes are gone.

Share a project file only with someone who is allowed to see everything in it, or apply redactions to source first.

Checklist before sharing

  1. Use redaction, not blur or pixelate, for anything secret.
  2. Scan the whole image, including sidebars, headers, notifications, avatars and the far end of long captures.
  3. Check the URL in any browser frame for IDs, tokens or private paths.
  4. Check that the file name does not give anything away.
  5. Open the exported file and confirm that every sensitive area is covered.
  6. Share an exported image or PDF rather than a project file. If you must share a project file, apply redactions to source first.

Still stuck? See troubleshooting or contact us.