How to hide faces and license plates in a photo before sharing it
A face or a license plate can be personal data under EU, UK and US rules. See what else in a photo identifies someone, and why a solid box beats a blur.
You cover a face or a license plate with a solid, opaque shape, then save the photo as a new file. Blurring or pixelating is not enough: both can leave a face guessable. A flattened export, with no layer to peel back, is what actually keeps someone unidentifiable.
Why can a face or a license plate be personal data?
A face is personal data when it can identify someone, directly or through details around it. The EDPB published Guidelines 3/2019 on video devices in January 2020. They treat a picture of a person as personal data once that person is identifiable by their looks or by other elements in the frame. This standard applies across the European Union.
A license plate follows the same logic. It is not a name, but it links to a vehicle's registered keeper through a register most drivers cannot access themselves. In France, the CNIL lists a plate number and a photo among its examples of personal data, alongside a voice recording. In the UK, the ICO's guidance on identifiers goes further than a name or a location. It also counts a person's physical, physiological or social identity.
What else in a photo can identify someone?
A face and a plate are the obvious risks, but a photo carries more clues than that. A badge on a lanyard or a house number on a door can point back to a real person. So can a name on a screen, or a signed paper left open on a desk. Jane Example poses for a company photo, and the whiteboard behind her lists a client's name in plain sight.
- Employee badges, lanyards and visitor stickers with a name or a photo.
- House numbers, street signs and post boxes that place someone at an address.
- Screens, monitors and paperwork left open on a desk in the background.
- Reflections in glasses, windows or a phone screen that show a face or a room.
- Tattoos, scars or a distinctive vehicle that a viewer could search for online.
Blur, pixelation or a solid box: which one hides a face?
Blur and pixelation are the default tools in most photo apps, and both are weaker than they look. A light blur can leave enough of a face's shape and features to recognize, especially to someone who already knows the person. The same risk applies to a plate: a soft blur can still leave the first and last characters readable. A solid, opaque shape removes the information instead of scrambling it, and it looks the same to everyone who sees the photo.
ONYRI Sanitize does not recognize faces or license plates on its own. On an image or a scanned page, its Draw an area tool lets you cover each one by hand with an opaque rectangle. The export is a new, flattened file, a PNG for a single image, so the photo's own embedded data does not travel with it. You still have to spot every face yourself.
Does a photo's own data give you away too?
A photo carries data you cannot see on screen. Most phones save the time, the camera model and, unless you turned it off, the exact GPS coordinates where you took the shot. That location can reveal a home address or a workplace even when the picture itself shows nothing sensitive. A masked face means little if the file still says where it was taken.
- On an iPhone or iPad, open the photo, tap the Share button, tap Options, then turn off Location.
- To remove it for good, open the photo, tap More, tap Adjust Info, tap Adjust Location, then choose No Location.
- On a Mac, select the photo, choose Image, then Location, then Hide Location.
- On Android, a new Google Photos link or shared album leaves location out by default, according to Google's help center. An estimated location stays out even if you turn that on. One you added yourself can still show.
The same caution applies once a photo sits inside a document. Drop it into a Word file or a PDF report, and it keeps its full resolution and its embedded data inside that file. A recipient who opens the image properties, or extracts the picture from the file, can still read what a masked screenshot would have hidden.
What should you hide, case by case?
| Situation | Hide | Usually keep |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance claim photo | Faces of bystanders, other people's plates, house numbers | Damage, the claimant's own plate if the insurer requires it |
| Property listing | Faces at windows, neighbors' plates, visible post with an address | The property's own street number, if it is part of the listing |
| Incident or site report | Visitors' badges, screens with client data, staff faces if policy requires it | The date, the location description, the equipment involved |
| Public social post | Every face and plate that is not your own, GPS location | The general scene, if nothing else identifies a bystander |
None of this makes a photo perfectly anonymous. A distinctive tattoo, a rare car or a recognizable room can still point back to someone, even with every face covered. Look at the finished picture as a stranger would, and ask what it would take for that stranger to guess who is in it.
Frequently asked questions
Is blurring a face ever good enough?
For a quick, private note to a friend, maybe. For anything you post publicly or send to a stranger, no. A blur that still shows the outline of a face, hair and skin tone can be enough for someone who already suspects who it is. Use a solid box or shape instead, and export a flattened copy so there is no layer left to remove.
Do I have to blur every license plate in a street photo?
It depends on the purpose and your country's guidance. In France, the CNIL treats a plate the same way as a photo of a person: both count as personal data. The EDPB's guidelines describe a narrow exemption for purely private use, such as photos you only show family. That exemption stops once a post reaches an indefinite number of people online. When in doubt for a public post, blur every plate that is not your own.
What is the fastest way to remove GPS data before I send a photo?
On an iPhone, open the photo, tap the share button, tap Options, and turn off Location before you send it. That removes the location from the copy you share, not from the original still saved on your device.
Does covering a face in a PDF or Word file work the same way?
Only if the final export is flattened into new pixels. A shape placed over a picture in an editable file can be moved or deleted by the next person who opens it. Export the finished page as an image or a flattened PDF, so the cover becomes part of the picture itself.
Can someone recover a face after I have covered it?
Not from a flattened, opaque cover: the original pixels are gone from that file. Someone could still see the original if you kept an unmasked copy somewhere reachable. That includes a shared cloud folder or an email you forgot to delete. Keep the original private, separate from the copy you share.
Sources & references
- Guidelines 3/2019 on processing of personal data through video devicesEuropean Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- What are identifiers and related factors?Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
- Manage location metadata in PhotosApple
- Understand, find and edit your photos' locationsGoogle Photos Help