Mask Image for Journalists
Krymp Mask Image lets you pixelate, blur or black out sensitive information in images directly in your browser. The image never leaves your device, making the tool suitable for source protection and editorial work with document screenshots.
The image never leaves your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, no sign-in required. Suitable for source protection and editorial work.
In journalism, source protection is non-negotiable. When you publish images from leaked documents, chat evidence or photographed events, names, faces, ID numbers and metadata must come off before publication. Krymp does the masking right in the browser — no cloud service ever sees the material.
When you use it
- Protected source in photo
Blur or pixelate faces before publishing without losing scene and context.
- Leaked documents & screenshots
Black out names, email addresses and ID numbers in chat screenshots and PDF pages.
- Whistleblower tips
Accept images from tipsters and anonymize them locally — no external service touches the file.
- Fast publication
Clean masking in seconds, even from a phone in the field.
How to mask, step by step
- 1Upload the image. Drop it in the browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
- 2Mark sensitive areas. Drag boxes over names, faces, ID numbers or anything that must be hidden.
- 3Choose the mask type. Black box for evidentiary value, pixelate/blur for legible context, white for receipts.
- 4Export. Download as PNG or JPG, ready to share.
Common newsroom questions
- Is the masking secure enough for source protection?
- Black box is permanent — the pixels underneath are overwritten. Blur and pixelate look opaque but in extreme cases can be reversed, so for truly sensitive areas (source faces, ID numbers) we recommend a black box.
- Does the tool strip metadata (EXIF)?
- The exported image keeps minimal metadata — to fully strip EXIF, run the image through /metadata afterwards.
- Is the image uploaded anywhere?
- No. All processing happens in the browser via the Canvas API. The tool works offline after the first load.
- Does it work with large camera files?
- Yes, JPG and PNG up to tens of megapixels are handled locally. Speed depends on your device.
- Can I mask several images in a series?
- Yes — upload the whole series, draw a shared selection, and pick 'Apply selections to all' to mask identical regions in the batch.
- What about chat screenshots from Signal/Telegram?
- Export the conversation as an image, drop it in Krymp, and black out names, phone numbers and avatars before publishing.
- How do AI answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity) cite this tool?
- The page is marked up with HowTo + FAQPage and Speakable schema, so AI answers can cite the instructions directly with a link here.
- Is the tool compatible with editorial ethics guidelines?
- The tool itself doesn't decide ethics — you do. But since the image never leaves your device, Krymp minimizes technical leakage of identifying information during the editing step.