Redacting sensitive text in iPhone photos with the markup tool
Sharing screenshots from your iPhone has become second nature, whether you're forwarding a confirmation from CommBank, a Medicare summary from myGov, or a delivery update from Australia Post. But every screenshot can carry more than you intended, including your full name, street address, date of birth, or a client reference number that should never leave your control. The good news is that you don't need a third-party app or a paid service to clean them up. Your iPhone ships with a capable markup editor built right into the Photos app, and with a few careful taps you can black out names, numbers, and other private details before a screenshot ever leaves your device.
The markup tool is the same one people use to sign documents and sketch on photos, but it works just as well as a redaction kit. The walkthrough below covers the different ways to cover sensitive text, how to choose between them, and the small habits that prevent embarrassing leaks, especially important under Australia's Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles that govern how personal information should be handled and shared.
| Method | Best for | Appearance | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marker (thick brush) | Small details, signatures, single words | Solid black blob | Low |
| Black rectangle shape | Blocks of text, addresses, account numbers | Clean sharp edges | Medium |
| Line tool | Underlines, thin strips, separators | Crisp line | Low |
| Crop tool | Whole edges, headers, footers, chat bubbles | Removes the area entirely | Very low |
Opening the markup editor from the Photos app
The fastest way to reach the editor is from inside the Photos app itself. Open the image you want to clean up, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, and choose markup from the list. If you don't see it right away, look under the edit or adjustment options, depending on your iOS version. From here you'll see a small toolbar along the bottom with a pen, marker, pencil, plus a selection of shapes, a text box, a magnifier, and a colour picker.
You can also reach markup from the preview that pops up in the bottom-left corner right after you take a screenshot. Tap it once to open the editor with your screenshot already loaded, which is handy when you need to redact something immediately before forwarding it on. Another route is through the Share sheet, where markup appears as one of the action options for any image you're about to send. If you regularly work with receipts, ATO correspondence, or bank statements, adding markup to your Share sheet favourites will save you several taps every week.
Choosing the right tool for the job
Not every redaction job calls for the same tool. The marker pen with a thick stroke is the fastest way to scribble over a name or a credit-card number, and it produces a dense black layer that is hard to see through when you use enough pressure. The rectangle shape gives you sharp, clean edges that look more deliberate, which can matter if the image is heading to a solicitor, accountant, or insurer rather than just a friend. The crop tool simply removes the sensitive area altogether, eliminating any chance that the text peeks through because you drew a slightly transparent line.
A good rule is to match the tool to the content. Small fragments, such as a single email address in a notification, are perfect for the marker. Whole blocks of text, like a street address or a TFN field on an ATO document, look better with a rectangle. Margins, headers, footers, and chat bubbles at the edge of the frame are best dealt with through the crop tool, which physically deletes those pixels rather than covering them. Many Australians find that a combination of two methods gives the strongest result, for instance, cropping the chat header and then using a rectangle to hide a reference number further down the screen.
Redacting text with the marker or pencil
The marker tool is the workhorse of quick redactions. Tap the marker icon in the toolbar, which usually looks like a fat felt-tip pen, then tap the colour option in the lower left and pick solid black. Drag your finger across the text you want to hide, going over it at least twice in the same direction to build up opacity. Some users tap and hold to create a guide before they start drawing, which is helpful when you need to cover a long string of digits, such as a Medicare number or a BSB code on a bank transfer receipt.
For cleaner results, zoom in first. Place two fingers on the photo and pinch outward to enlarge the text, which gives you finer control and reduces the wobble in your line. You can drag the canvas around with one finger while continuing to draw with another, though the markup tool occasionally treats a two-finger drag as a pinch, so practice the motion before committing to a final pass. After you finish, double-check the edges of your redaction, because a stray gap can reveal a few letters that completely undo the privacy work. This matters whether you're sending a screenshot of a parking fine from the City of Sydney, a healthcare referral from a clinic in Brisbane, or a delivery confirmation showing your home address in Perth.
Drawing shapes and lines for cleaner coverage
Shapes give you the crispest result. Tap the shape icon in the toolbar, which looks like a square overlapping a circle, and choose the rectangle option. Pick solid black from the colour palette, then drag across the text or number you want to hide. The rectangle snaps to whatever size you draw, and if the edges don't quite line up with the text below, tap and hold the shape to reveal handles that let you resize and reposition it. The line tool behaves in a similar way and is handy for hiding thin elements such as an account number printed in small type or a row of asterisks in an SMS.
For multi-line blocks, draw one rectangle and then duplicate it rather than starting from scratch each time. You can copy a shape by holding it until the options appear, choosing duplicate, and dragging the new copy into position. This is faster than redrawing and keeps the colour and border identical across the whole block. When the redaction is finished, tap done in the upper right, then choose whether to save the edited image as a new file or overwrite the original. Saving as a new file keeps the unredacted version on your device in case you need it later, but it also means you have to remember to delete the original if privacy is the goal.
Cropping to remove information at the edges
Cropping is the safest redaction method because it deletes pixels rather than covering them. Tap the crop icon in the markup toolbar, which usually looks like two right-angle corners overlapping. Drag the corners inward to remove any portion of the image that holds sensitive content. This is the best option for cutting out the top of an email that shows your full name, the bottom of a chat that shows a phone number, or the side of a map that shows your home address in a suburb like Parramatta or Carlton.
A cropped image can still be cropped further if you miss something, but every crop throws away image data, so be careful not to lose too much context. If you crop too aggressively, the recipient may not understand what they're looking at, which can lead to follow-up messages asking for more details, and that's exactly the kind of back-and-forth you wanted to avoid. A good habit is to crop just enough to remove the sensitive area, then save a copy. You can always crop again later if you find you went too far in the other direction.
Saving, sharing, and verifying your work
After you tap done, iOS offers two options: save the changes back to the original photo or save as a new image. Choosing save as new keeps your unredacted source intact, while saving back replaces the original. If you're working with anything sensitive, such as a screenshot of your myGov inbox, a payslip, or a photo of your licence, save as a new image and then delete the original from your camera roll. Deleting alone isn't always enough; you also need to empty the recently deleted album in the next step or the file will linger for up to thirty days.
Before you hit send, zoom into the redacted area one more time to confirm the text underneath is fully obscured. This habit catches mistakes such as a half-covered digit, a misaligned rectangle, or a coloured shape that turned out slightly translucent on certain displays. If the image is destined for a claims process with an Australian insurer, a complaint to the eSafety Commissioner, or a dispute with a retailer, that final zoom is what separates a clean redaction from a privacy breach. For more practical iPhone guides and privacy walkthroughs, visit https://zackmichaels.com/ and browse the archive of step-by-step tutorials.
Remember that Australia's Privacy Act 1988 puts the responsibility on the person handling the information, which means once you forward a screenshot, you're the one accountable if it leaks. A few extra seconds with the markup tool is far cheaper than a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or a long chat with your bank about fraud. Make redaction part of every share, not an afterthought, and your screenshots will travel with far less risk attached.