1. Decide what the recipient needs to see
Start with the question you're trying to answer. For a bug report, the relevant error and surrounding controls may matter. For a set of instructions, one highlighted button may be enough. Crop unrelated tabs, windows and conversations where possible.
2. Check the edges for private details
Look for names, email addresses, profile pictures, account identifiers, message previews, URLs with tokens, calendar entries and location information. Private details often appear in a sidebar or notification—not in the centre of the screenshot.
3. Remove the detail rather than just making it fuzzy
Use fully opaque coverage for information that should not be visible in the shared image. Blur can help reduce visual clutter, but it should not be your only protection for sensitive text. Read our comparison of blur and redaction for more context.
4. Annotate sparingly
One arrow pointing to the problem is often more useful than five colourful shapes. Keep labels short and choose colours with enough contrast against the image. Avoid marking over the information the recipient needs.
5. Inspect the exported file
Open the actual exported image, not only the canvas preview. Confirm the crop, redaction and labels are in the correct locations. Check that the file includes no information you intended to remove.
Can the recipient understand the point? Are private areas fully covered? Have you checked the actual exported image? If yes, the screenshot is much more ready to share.
The ScreenReady screenshot editor is being prepared to bring cropping, redaction and annotation together in a browser-local workflow. Editing functionality is not available yet.