Scrubshot / Guides

Guide · 4 min read

How to redact a screenshot on iPhone

Before you send that screenshot, make sure it isn’t carrying someone’s phone number, your address or a card number. Here are three ways to hide them, from free and manual to fully automatic.

1. With Markup (built in, free)

  1. Take a screenshot and tap the thumbnail in the corner.
  2. Tap the + button and choose Shape, then pick the filled rectangle.
  3. Set the color to black, then drag and resize the box over each detail.
  4. Tap Done and save or share.

Avoid the highlighter and pen. Their strokes are partly see-through, and text under them can sometimes be recovered by brightening the image. Only use solid, filled shapes.

Markup works, but it’s slow: you have to find every detail yourself, box each one, and remember that the screenshot still carries its date and device details.

2. With Scrubshot (automatic)

  1. Take a screenshot, tap the thumbnail, then tap Share → Scrubshot. You can also open Scrubshot and tap your latest screenshot.
  2. Scrubshot finds names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, card and account numbers, QR codes and faces, and covers them right away.
  3. Tap a box to show or hide it, drag to cover anything else, or type what to hide, like “the order number”.
  4. Tap Save or Share. The copy is a brand-new image with no hidden location or device details.

Everything happens on your iPhone; your screenshot is never uploaded. Your first 5 redactions are free.

3. With one tap (Back Tap or the Action Button)

  1. In Scrubshot, go to Settings → One-Tap Redaction → Add Shortcut Automation.
  2. Open your iPhone’s Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap → Double Tap and choose Redacted Screenshot.
  3. Now double-tap the back of your iPhone in any app. It takes a screenshot, redacts it and saves it to your Redacted album.

What should you redact?

  • Contact details: phone numbers, emails, home addresses, @usernames.
  • Money: card numbers, account and routing numbers, balances.
  • IDs and codes: order numbers, confirmation codes, boarding-pass QR codes, which can be used to change bookings.
  • Other people: names and faces of people who didn’t agree to be shared.

Why not just blur?

Light blur and fine pixelation can sometimes be reversed, especially on text. Solid black bars are the safest choice. If you prefer pixelation, it needs to be very coarse, which is what Scrubshot uses.

Try Scrubshot: automatic, on-device redaction for screenshots and photos. Learn more →