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How to hide names in chat screenshots before sharing

Cover repeated names, check avatars and contact details, then join chat screenshots into one readable image. A practical walkthrough with review tips.

By ToolsNow · Published · updated

Before sharing a chat screenshot, check names inside the messages as well as in the header. Quoted replies, profile pictures and contact cards can identify someone even after the top of the image is cropped.

The Chat Screenshot Cleaner lets you choose a name and cover its recognised matches across several screenshots. You can add a label such as Person A, cover other details, and join the images when you are finished. Start with the sample screenshots if you want to see the process before opening your own.

Try the built-in sample first

Choose Try sample screenshots in the cleaner. It creates two overlapping fictional screenshots for practice.

  1. Wait for text scanning to finish, then search for Alex Morgan.
  2. Enter Person A as the optional label and apply the matching covers.
  3. Check both screenshots. Cover the sample email and phone number, and inspect the repeated avatars separately.
  4. Open Join & download, try Suggest overlap trims, and read across the join for repeated or missing messages.
  5. Review each image, choose Prepare download, then expand Open the actual prepared PNG to inspect the file before saving it.

This is a practice exercise, not a check that detection will find everything in your own screenshots.

Find the name, then check its other forms

Add up to eight PNG, JPG or WebP screenshots and text scanning starts automatically. You can stop it at any time or select Scan text again for another pass. Enter the name as it appears in the detected text, or tap a word in the preview.

If you enter Alex Morgan, the search finds that phrase without requiring the same capitalisation. It will not automatically know that Alex, @alexm and A. Morgan refer to the same person.

Apply the cover, then search any other forms you need to hide. An optional anonymous label makes a conversation with several people easier to follow: use Person A for one participant and Person B for another. Labels replace the pixels inside your covers; they do not rewrite the messages.

The text reader currently uses an English model. Small lettering, unusual fonts and other languages can produce missed or misspelled words. Check the image itself and draw a cover wherever detection has missed something.

For dark chats or coloured bubbles, the cleaner adjusts contrast and makes a second reading pass automatically. Each screenshot shows how many words were found. If that count is zero or parts of the conversation are missing, change Screenshot appearance and scan again. Use the original full-size screenshot where possible; a compressed copy may have lost small letters or punctuation.

Look beyond the header

Before marking a screenshot as reviewed, look through these places:

  • Message text: quoted replies, signatures and mentions can repeat a name.
  • Profile pictures: the same avatar may appear beside several messages.
  • Contact details: email addresses and phone numbers may sit inside a message or shared contact card.
  • Other clues: a group title, workplace, address or visible notification may reveal more than you intended.

Contact suggestions help find email and phone-number patterns. Check them before applying covers, because an ordinary number can resemble a phone number. For avatars, draw a tight cover around one and choose Find this avatar in all screenshots. This searches for copies of the picture at a similar scale. Changed crops or sizes may not match.

You can also try face detection or add covers by hand. For a photo without chat text, the simpler face blur tool may be a better fit. For a single image needing manual boxes, use image redaction.

Join screenshots without repeating messages

Put the images in conversation order using the arrows. In Join & download, trim repeated app headers and footers, then try the overlap suggestion. It looks for matching sections between neighbouring screenshots.

Read the last message before each join and the first message after it. If a message is repeated or cut short, adjust the trims. Plain backgrounds, repeated headers and different image scales can prevent a reliable automatic match. Undo restores the previous trims.

Choose one long PNG for a continuous conversation, or separate PNGs in a ZIP when the conversation is too long. A smaller joined width reduces file size but also makes text smaller, so inspect readability before sharing.

Inspect the file you will share

The cleaner uses solid covers. In the exported PNG, covered pixels are replaced, and the export does not include the editor’s cover objects, original image attachment, recognised text or copied source metadata. Your chosen label is visible in the image. The PNG encoder can still write ordinary file information.

Uncovered message content and context can still identify someone. The review checkbox enables download; it is your review record, not an automatic anonymity check. Edits and trims can clear that mark, so review the affected images again.

For a joined image, inspect Open the actual prepared PNG before saving. For separate images, save the ZIP, unpack it and check each PNG. Screenshots and recognised text are processed in the browser tab; closing or reloading it ends the working session, but does not delete your source files or downloads.

Last reviewed 2 October 2026.

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