People assume a screenshot is just pixels. Often it is close to that, but the file can still record when it was taken, the device model or the program that made it, and some tools add comments or an embedded thumbnail. Screen recordings are videos and can carry device and date information.
What to expect
- Phone screenshots are typically PNG or JPEG with few tags, often a date and sometimes the software. Check yours rather than assume.
- Desktop screenshots may record the program name or the display colour profile.
- Screenshot tools and editors can add author, comments or an edit history, and some store the window title or the URL of the page.
- Screen recordings are MP4 or MOV files with creation dates and the encoder name.
The bigger risk is inside the picture
A screenshot shows what was on your screen: names, email addresses, account numbers, notifications, open tabs, the time, and your battery and signal. Those leak more than any tag. Crop to the part you need and blur the rest. Remember that blur on a low-resolution area can sometimes be undone, so a solid box is safer for sensitive text.
Check and clean
- Open the screenshot in the File Metadata Viewer to see its fields.
- Clean PNG, JPEG or WebP with the Image Metadata Remover. The picture itself is copied without recompression.
- For recordings use the Video Metadata Remover.