Is iPhone's Markup safe for hiding details?
What goes wrong
The original is still there. When you mark up a photo in Photos, you edit that photo, and edits in Photos can normally be reverted. So anyone with your unlocked phone may be able to undo your black lines in a few taps. We haven't confirmed the exact steps from Apple, so don't count on an edit being permanent.
Some ways of sending include the edit history. In Photos, Share can have an Options setting called All Photos Data. We haven't confirmed from Apple exactly when it appears, but if it's on, the person you send to may get the original with its edit history, and so may be able to see what was under your marks.
The drawing may not cover enough. Apple says Markup lets you change a color's opacity. A see-through marker can leave numbers readable underneath. A finger-drawn line can also leave small gaps between strokes. This is our advice: zoom in on the result as close as you can before you send it.
Your copy isn't the only copy. The unmarked photo may still be on your iPhone, in iCloud or in someone's chat if you sent it before.
When Markup is fine
For something low-stakes, like hiding a neighbor's name on a parcel label before posting a photo, a solid, full-opacity line is probably enough. This is our advice, and it's about how much would go wrong if the cover failed. For a card number, an ID, a passport or a bank account, use something safer.
A safer way
- Cover the details with solid boxes in a tool that saves a new picture, so there's no edit to undo. Here's why blur and see-through colors fall short.
- Send the new picture, not the marked-up original. Leave All Photos Data off.
- Zoom in and check the copy for anything left.
- Remove the location. Here's how.
- Deal with your original. Delete it, or lock it away, if you don't need it. A deleted photo isn't gone right away: here's how Recently Deleted works.
If you've already sent a marked-up picture, you can't take it back. If the details were a card or account number, our advice is to ask the bank for a new card. Here's more on card photos.
How FirstHour helps
Black out saves a new copy with solid black boxes over the numbers, names and signatures it finds, and you can add, move and resize your own. The copy is drawn again as a new picture, so there's no edit history to revert and no location or camera details. Before saving, it reads the copy again and warns you if it can still read a name or number. Your original isn't changed, so delete it or move it to the Vault yourself.
It only covers what it finds, and it doesn't find faces. Handwriting and very blurry pictures are often missed. It can't remove what you've already sent to someone.
Questions
What if I take a screenshot of my marked-up photo?
A screenshot is a new picture of what's on your screen, so there's no edit to undo. This is our advice, not Apple's. The original photo is still in your library, and the screenshot has its own date and device details. Zoom in and check it first.
Does Markup in Messages or Mail work the same way?
Apple lists Markup in Photos, Messages and Mail. We haven't confirmed how each one saves the original, so assume the unmarked picture may still exist somewhere.
Sources
- Use Markup on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple Support