A private screenshot app for Mac: share the screen, not the secrets
A screenshot often shows more than you meant: an API key in a terminal, a password in a chat, a card number on a receipt, a colleague’s e-mail. SimpleShot finds them on the capture and covers them with solid pixels before you share it. It does this on your Mac, with no account and no server that receives your screen.
What a screenshot can give away
- Keys and tokens: API keys and access tokens from developer services, private key headers, long random strings in a terminal, a config file or a settings page.
- Passwords written out: a password after a label such as “Password:” or “token:” in a chat, a note or a file. A password field that shows dots is already hidden by macOS.
- Payment details: card numbers and IBANs, checked by their check digits, so dates and order numbers stay visible.
- Contact details: e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
- Network details: IP addresses.
How SimpleShot hides them
- One click. Hide Sensitive Data reads the text of the capture on your Mac. Its button shows how many private details are still showing, and one click covers them all.
- Or every time, by itself. Turn on Settings › Privacy › Hide sensitive data automatically. Everything you copy, save or share then has solid pixels there. The Library keeps the original on your Mac, so you can undo any cover in the editor.
- Solid pixels, not blur. Secure Redact replaces the covered pixels in everything you export, copy, share or drag. Blurred text can sometimes be read back; a solid box leaves nothing to recover.
- Anything else, by hand. Names, addresses and faces are not looked for. Choose Secure Redact (D) and drag over them.
Private by default, not by setting
Your captures, recordings, the Library, text recognition and Hide Sensitive Data never leave your Mac. There is no account, and the app sends no analytics, no crash reports and no usage data. You can check it: turn off Wi-Fi, and everything except links and time proofs still works.
Something leaves your Mac only when you choose it: a link you make sends that one capture, without its metadata, and deleting the link deletes it; a time proof sends the image’s fingerprint, never the image. Details are on the privacy page.
Ways to hide private details, side by side
| SimpleShot | The screenshot tool built into macOS | A typical online redaction site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finds private details itself | Yes: e-mails, phones, cards, IBANs, keys, passwords, IPs | No | Some do |
| How they are covered | Solid pixels | By hand, with a shape in Markup | Often blur or pixelate |
| Where the image goes | Stays on your Mac | Stays on your Mac | Often uploaded to a server |
| Account | None | None | Sometimes, for more images |
| Price | Free | Free | Often free with limits or a watermark |
What it doesn’t do — honestly
- It doesn’t find names, street addresses, faces or handwriting. Cover them by hand, and look the image over before you share it.
- It finds what it can read: text that is very small or blurry on the screen can be missed.
- It works on screenshots, not on screen recordings: before you record, close what shouldn’t be seen.
- It is a Mac app: macOS 26 or later, Apple Silicon. On another computer, the free browser tool does the same on one screenshot at a time.
Questions
Does SimpleShot upload my screenshots?
No. Captures, the Library, text recognition and Hide Sensitive Data stay on your Mac. Only what you choose leaves it: a capture you make into a link (without its metadata) and a time proof’s fingerprint, never the image.
Can it hide passwords?
Yes, the ones written out as text: a password or token after a label like “Password:”, and API keys and tokens recognised by their form. A password field that shows dots is already hidden by macOS.
Is blurring a screenshot safe enough?
Not for secrets. Blur and pixelate are visual effects: short numbers and text can sometimes be guessed back. SimpleShot covers private details with solid pixels.
Is it free?
Yes. Everything on the Mac is free, with updates included. SimpleShot Premium is only for the cloud: unlimited links, longer videos by link, passwords and end dates on links.
Can I try it without installing anything?
Yes. The free tool at getsimpleshot.com/hide-sensitive-data finds and covers the same kinds of details on a screenshot, in your browser. The image is not uploaded.
Share the screenshot.
Keep the secrets.
Free · macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon