Black Out

Hide sensitive parts of an image

Put black boxes over the private parts of a screenshot or photo before you share it. The app also removes the metadata, like when and where it was captured.

$4, one-time purchaseRequires macOS 26 or laterSince 2017No data collected

For example, hide the names in a Slack conversation you want to post on X (Twitter).

Recent Reviews

Did I say I love this app?
It’s quick, simple, and reliable. Redacting with Finder is easy enough but this is even easier. And the recently-added Quick Action feature is great! Thank you to the developer :-)

AutomaticCandy, App Store, July 2020

Exactly what I needed
This app does exactly what I need, and the developer seems to be committed to making sure it is fully secure (it strips out metadata, and does not support insecure methods like blurring). Would recommend this app 100%, great work!

HeySRI, App Store, September 2018

Awesome App
Great app. I used to use preview but it was clunky. This is fast and easy! Super helpful. 5 stars!

parkerwoodward, App Store, December 2017

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a feature request, bug report, or some feedback

Click the feedback button in the app or send it here.

Can you support blurring and pixelation?

Blurring and pixelation are intentionally not supported as they can sometimes be reversed. The only reliable way to redact something is to put a black box over it.

I can already do this in the Preview app!

You can do this in any graphics app. The point of this app is to make the task super easy to do. Most graphics apps, like Preview, Pixelmator, and Photoshop, preserve metadata, which means you could accidentally leak information like the capture location. Black Out strips out all metadata. It can also be run directly from Finder as a Quick Action.

Does it support PDF?

You can open a PDF document, but only its first page, and you have to export it as a PNG image. It’s almost impossible to reliably export redacted PDFs.

What is the text in the icon?

It’s from Apple’s inspirational “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” TV commercial.

How can I turn off automatic filename suggestions when saving?

On macOS:

Open Finder.
Click Finder in the menu bar, then Settings.
Go to the General tab.
Uncheck “Suggest file names”.

Can you localize the app into my language?

I don’t plan to localize the app.

More FAQs

Older Versions

2.6.0 for macOS 15
2.4.0 for macOS 14
2.3.1 for macOS 13
2.2.0 for macOS 12
2.0.4 for macOS 11
1.8.2 for macOS 10.15

These are free for everyone but they will not run on newer macOS versions.