GUIDE

How to blur text in an image

Names, addresses, emails, order numbers — in photos or screenshots. Free, in-browser, nothing uploads.

Do it now: open the tool
Drop or paste the image, box the text, download. Nothing leaves your device.
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The method

  1. Open the image at blurthat.com. Drag-drop a photo, or paste a screenshot straight from your clipboard with Ctrl+V — no need to save it first.
  2. Drag a box over the text. Screenshot text is straight, so the box tool fits it exactly. Text at an angle — a sign in a photo, a letter on a desk — goes faster with the BRUSH.
  3. Pick blur or pixelate. Pixelate at block 12+ gives the classic mosaic; blur at high strength reads softer. Both look right on casual stuff — a name in a chat, a street number in a listing photo.
  4. Download as PNG or JPG. Only the boxed region changes; the rest of the image is untouched. The re-encode strips EXIF metadata — including GPS — automatically.
The one exception: if the text is genuinely sensitive — a password, API key, card number, anything you'd rotate if it leaked — don't blur it, bar it. Blurred and pixelated text can be reconstructed; solid bars can't. The full story: how to redact properly.

Blur, pixelate, or bar?

Blur is the gentlest look and the weakest protection — text is high-contrast and drawn from a known alphabet, which is exactly what deblurring techniques feed on. Pixelate is stronger per unit of ugliness and universally read as "censored on purpose." Bar is absolute: it replaces the pixels, so there is nothing to recover.

The honest rule of thumb: blur or pixelate when the text is merely private (a friend's name, your street number), bar it when it's a credential. And go heavier than feels necessary — if you can squint and guess a character, so can software.

Common jobs

  • Chat screenshots — blur the other person's name and avatar before posting. Sweep for their name reappearing in reply-quotes further down.
  • Marketplace photos — house numbers, mail with your address in frame, a phone number on a work van. Box, pixelate, done. Selling a car? The plate guide covers the rest.
  • Documents you must photograph — forms, letters, IDs. If any of it is account numbers, that's bar territory — see the redaction guide.
  • Work screenshots — customer names in a dashboard you're demoing. Blur reads politer than bars in a deck; just keep credentials barred.
Blur the text now
Free · no upload · EXIF stripped on export
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Questions

Can blurred text be unblurred?
Sometimes. Text's known fonts and alphabet make reconstruction attacks possible against light blur and coarse pixelation. Heavy settings on small text are much harder — but for anything you'd rotate if it leaked, use the bar and stop worrying.
Can I do this on my phone?
Yes — BlurThat runs in the browser on iPhone and Android. Open the site, pick the image from your camera roll, box the text, download. Nothing uploads on mobile either.
Does it degrade the rest of the image?
No. The effect touches only the region you select; everything else passes through with a single re-encode. Export PNG for zero compression loss.

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