How do I obscure personal details in pictures?

sojourner · 03-05-2013, 02:45 AM

I have some pictures I want to post online, but I'd like to make some of the details unreadable. I've seen images online that obscure details by making the details appear fuzzy. What application can I use to get that result? And what search terms can I use to find information on this?

benwiggy · 03-05-2013, 03:13 AM

Photoshop. Any image editor that can do a blur in a selected area.

acme.mail.order · 03-05-2013, 06:40 AM

The tools you are looking for are called "blur", "pixellate", or pretty much anything in the "distortion" or "effects" menu. As Ben said, nearly any image editor with more horsepower than MS Paint will do it. Photoshop would be the most expensive option.

(Note: iPhoto is not an image *editor*. Its an image organizer.)

chabig · 03-05-2013, 07:21 AM

Preview can black things out.

acme.mail.order · 03-05-2013, 07:33 AM

It can, but a big black bar tends to attract attention to the detail rather than hide it. And if it's people they get that '60s "educational film" look.

fracai · 03-05-2013, 08:33 AM

Just keep in mind that blurring things like text can usually be reversed. Well, not reversed, but you can run scripts that reveal the original text by brute force; they iteratively blur text until finding something that matches the obscurred image. I'm sure a similar process could be used with faces.

Something to keep in mind if it's anything that's actually sensitive.

benwiggy · 03-05-2013, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fracai


	I'm sure a similar process could be used with faces.

Been done. Police have caught bad men who had blurred their faces using Photoshop in bad pictures.

03-05-2013, 02:45 AM	#1
sojourner Major Leaguer Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 324	How do I obscure personal details in pictures? I have some pictures I want to post online, but I'd like to make some of the details unreadable. I've seen images online that obscure details by making the details appear fuzzy. What application can I use to get that result? And what search terms can I use to find information on this? __________________ see a problem; solve a problem.

03-05-2013, 08:33 AM	#6
fracai MVP Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,012	Just keep in mind that blurring things like text can usually be reversed. Well, not reversed, but you can run scripts that reveal the original text by brute force; they iteratively blur text until finding something that matches the obscurred image. I'm sure a similar process could be used with faces. Something to keep in mind if it's anything that's actually sensitive. __________________ i am jack's amusing sig file
$fracai is offline$

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03-05-2013, 03:13 AM	#2
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,040	Photoshop. Any image editor that can do a blur in a selected area.

03-05-2013, 06:40 AM	#3
acme.mail.order League Commissioner Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tokyo Posts: 6,046	The tools you are looking for are called "blur", "pixellate", or pretty much anything in the "distortion" or "effects" menu. As Ben said, nearly any image editor with more horsepower than MS Paint will do it. Photoshop would be the most expensive option. (Note: iPhoto is not an image editor. Its an image organizer.)

03-05-2013, 07:21 AM	#4
chabig Hall of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,934	Preview can black things out.

03-05-2013, 07:33 AM	#5
acme.mail.order League Commissioner Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tokyo Posts: 6,046	It can, but a big black bar tends to attract attention to the detail rather than hide it. And if it's people they get that '60s "educational film" look.