Check private information before sharing a screenshot

Look beyond the main message for identifying details.

Inspect the whole image

Names and phone numbers may appear in the header, avatar, quoted reply, group name or notification bar. Review corners and background windows as well as the main conversation.

Choose what the reader actually needs

Keep the product, error or message relevant to your question. Mask unrelated names, addresses, pickup codes, identity numbers and QR codes. Use fictional information when practising or reporting a tool fault.

Apply a solid mask

Select an area slightly larger than the sensitive text and apply it. Repeat for each area. Mosaic can retain clues and is not a guarantee that information cannot be recognised.

Inspect the exported image

Download the processed image, reopen it and zoom in. Check that no letter edges remain. In your sharing app, select the new output rather than the unedited original. Check the filename too.

Remember the wider context

Pixel masking is not a complete metadata audit. Other people may already know the context, and recipients can reshare an image. Decide whether the screenshot needs to be public at all.