How to hide private info in Linux screenshots
Do you take a lot of screenshots on your Linux PC? Are you weary that you may be sharing private information in the screenshots you take of your desktop? Not sure how to protect yourself when you take screenshots? We can help! Follow along with our guide as we show you two ways to censor private info in Linux screenshots!
Option 1 – Flameshot
If you’re trying to take screenshots on your Linux PC and want to keep your information private, Flameshot is one of the best apps to use. Not only is it an incredibly easy program to use, but it also has built-in censoring options that will allow you to keep private information private in your screenshots.
In a past guide, we went over how to install Flameshot on Linux. For in-depth information on how to get the app working, click here. That said, we’ll also go over it briefly in this guide for those that just want to get the app working.
Ubuntu
To install Flameshot on Ubuntu, run the following Apt command.
sudo apt install flameshot
Debian
To install Flameshot on Debian, run the following Apt-get command.
sudo apt-get install flameshot
Arch Linux
To install Flameshot on Arch Linux, run the following Pacman command.
sudo pacman -S flameshot
Fedora
To install Flameshot on Fedora, run the following Dnf command.
sudo dnf install flameshot
OpenSUSE
To install Flameshot on OpenSUSE, run the following Zypper command.
sudo zypper install flameshot
Screenshots with Flameshot
After installing the Flameshot application on your computer, follow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to take screenshots on your Linux PC without revealing private info.
Step 1: Find Flameshot in the app menu and click on it to launch the app. By launching the app, you’ll see it in the system tray. Alternatively, you can open up the screenshot UI by pressing Alt + F2 and entering the command flameshot gui.
Step 2: Upon launching Flameshot, you will see it in the system tray. Click it. When you click on it, your screen will grey, and your mouse cursor will turn into a plus sign (+).
Step 3: Using the plus sign cursor (+), drag the plus sign (+) cursor to create a new screenshot.
Step 4: After dragging the cursor to create the frame of your new screenshot, you will see a toolbar pop up at the bottom. This toolbar has many options. To censor your private information, find the blur tool and click on it (it’s next to the T icon).
Step 5: Once you’ve clicked on the blur tool with the mouse, use your mouse cursor to blur our various private information.
If you do not feel that the blur is strong enough in Flameshot, keep in mind that you can add more blur on top of things you’ve already blurred to make it even harder to read your private information.
After you’ve finished blurring your screenshot, locate the save icon (it’s the floppy disk icon) and click it with the mouse to save your new screenshot. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.
Option 2 – Gimp pixelate feature
If Flameshot is not enough for you, there’s another way: censoring screenshots in Gimp with the pixelate feature. To start the process, launch Gimp on your computer, and follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Find the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard and press it to take a screenshot using your Linux desktop environment’s built-in screenshot tool.
Step 2: Save the screenshot with your Linux PC’s screenshot tool. Keep in mind where this screenshot is saved, as you’ll need to know where it is to import it to the Gimp image editor.
Step 3: In the Gimp application, locate the “File” button, and click on it with the mouse. Then, locate the “Open” button, and click on it. After clicking on “Open,” a file browser will appear.
Locate your screenshot in the file browser and import it into Gimp.
Step 4: Find the rectangle select tool, and click on it in the Gimp toolbar. Or, press R on the keyboard to access it.
Then, using the rectangle select tool, select the region in the screenshot you would like to censor or pixelate so that it remains private.
Step 5: After making your selection with Gimp’s rectangle select tool, find the “Filters” menu and click on it. Then, look through the “Filters” menu for the “Blur” sub-menu.
Inside of the “Blur” sub-menu, select the “Pixelize” button. Then, use the tool to censor your selection in the image.
Step 6: Once you’ve censored your screenshot, click on “File” to access the “File” menu. Then, click on the “Export” button to export your newly edited screenshot.
When you click on “Export As,” you will be presented with a file browser. Type in the new filename for your screenshot and click “Export” to save.
Repeat this process as many times as needed to censor all private information from your Linux screenshots!
