Pick the method by what you're hiding
| What you're hiding | Best method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Card, account or ID numbers, passwords | Solid black box | Nothing of the original pixels is left |
| A face you still want to look natural | Blur | Keeps the photo looking like a photo |
| Number plates, screens in the background | Pixelate with large blocks | Fast, and clearly intentional |
| A person or object that shouldn't be there at all | Clean Up | Removes it instead of covering it |
Cover it with a Markup shape (any iPhone)
Markup is built into Photos and works on every iPhone running current iOS:
- Open the photo in Photos and tap Edit, then the Markup button.
- In the Markup toolbar, tap +, then Add Shape, and pick the square.
- Drag the square over what you want to hide and resize it with the dots on its outline.
- Tap the shape's style controls and set a fill colour with full opacity.
- Tap Done.
Watch the opacity. A shape or highlighter at less than full opacity can leave the text readable underneath, especially if someone adjusts the brightness of your image.
Remove it with Clean Up (Apple Intelligence iPhones)
On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, Clean Up removes objects rather than covering them. Open the photo, tap Edit, then Tools, then Clean Up, and tap, brush or circle what you want gone. It works well for a stranger in the background. It's less suited to documents, because the tool fills the gap with invented detail that can look odd over text.
Blur or pixelate a face privately
Photos can't blur part of an image, so many people upload the photo to a free website. That defeats the purpose if the photo is sensitive. Our free blur tool runs in Safari on your iPhone and never uploads the photo: choose a photo, drag over a face, name or number, pick Blur, Pixelate or Black out, then download the new image.
The download is a new file, so it carries no location or camera details. To check any photo for hidden data first, use the photo metadata viewer.
Edits you share vs edits you keep
Photos edits are non-destructive. When you share an edited photo, the recipient gets the flattened version with your box or blur burned in. The copy in your library still holds the original, and Revert brings it back. That matters if someone else can open your Photos app or your iCloud library: the hidden detail is one tap away.
If the original is the sensitive part, keep the edited copy for sharing, and move the original into a vault or delete it. Then empty it from Recently Deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Does iPhone have a built-in blur tool for photos?
Not in Photos in iOS 27. You can cover an area with a filled Markup shape or remove an object with Clean Up, but there's no brush that blurs or pixelates part of a photo.
Can someone remove a Markup shape I added?
Not from the copy you share: the shape is flattened into the image you send. In your own library the edit can be reverted, because Photos keeps the original.
Is pixelating a credit card number safe?
Not always. Pixelated or lightly blurred text can sometimes be reconstructed by matching it against known fonts and digits. Cover numbers with a solid, fully opaque box instead.
