How to redact a screenshot
Paste the screenshot above and the names, dates, and identifiers on it come back marked, ready for you to approve. Redact covers a value for good. Mask swaps it for a reversible placeholder you can restore later. Then copy the protected image straight back to your clipboard.
Why screenshots are the hard case
A screenshot has no text layer to search. It is a picture of one, which is why most tools hand you a black rectangle and leave the finding to you. That is slow on a chart view and easy to get wrong: identifiers sit in the window title, the patient banner, a browser tab, a sidebar list, a table column, a tooltip, and the body of the note, and a rectangle drawn over four of those leaves the other three in the file.
PHI Mask reads the image itself and follows the layout it finds. Interface chrome, multi-column panes, and table cells are read along with the running text, so the identifiers come back marked in place and the clinical content around them stays readable.
Cover it for good, or keep a way back?
| Treatment | Use it when | Protected image |
|---|---|---|
| Redact | The value must not be recoverable from the image you send. | An opaque cover is burned into the exported pixels. |
| Mask | You want an answer about this case and will restore the real values after. | A placeholder is drawn in place; recovery uses the mapping held in this tab. |
Most screenshots that get pasted into an assistant want masking. You cover the identifiers, ask your question with the picture attached, and map the answer back to the real names in one step, so the reply is about your actual case. The recovery mapping stays in this tab and is never written into the image.
Redact a screenshot in five steps
- Paste from the clipboard, or drop the image file into the workspace above.
- Wait for the image to finish reading, then look over what was found.
- Add anything specific to your work and choose Redact for values that must stay covered.
- Copy the protected image, or download it, and open it as the recipient would.
- Review before sharing.
The whole thing runs in this browser tab. Nothing is sent anywhere, there is nothing to install, and the screenshot stays on your machine, which is what makes it usable on the machine that took it rather than something you route through a service first.
Common questions
How do I redact a screenshot online?
Paste or drop the image into the workspace above. The names, dates, and identifiers on it come back marked for review, you choose what to cover, and you copy or download the protected image.
Does the screenshot leave my machine?
No. The image is read in this browser tab. There is nothing to install and no account to create, so a screenshot can be covered on the machine it was taken on.
Does it read the interface around the text?
Yes. A screenshot is mostly chrome: window titles, sidebars, chart banners, tabs, and column headers. Those are read along with the body text, which is where identifiers most often survive a manual black-box pass.
Can I still use the covered screenshot in a chat?
Yes, and that is the usual reason to cover one. Masked values keep a placeholder you can map back afterwards, so the answer you get names your actual case rather than a token.
What about handwriting in a photo?
Printed and rendered text is read, including photographed screens. Handwritten notes and signatures are the one thing to check with your own eye before you share.