Open your workspace.

Launch Redact Shot, click its icon in the Mac menu bar, and choose “Open Editor.” It lives in the menu bar, so you will not see a Dock icon.

Bring in an image.

• Drag an image file into the editor.
• Choose an image with “Open…”.
• Use “Paste” for an image on the clipboard.

Straight from a screenshot.

Press ⌃⇧⌘4 and select an area to capture a screenshot to the clipboard. Then click “Paste” in the Redact Shot editor.

Cover the private parts.

Choose a shape and mask type under “Next mask,” then drag over the image. Use a rectangle or ellipse, or trace an area with Freehand.

Select a mask to move or delete it. Rectangles and ellipses can also be resized with their corner handles. Freehand masks support moving and deleting.

Check. Then share.

Zoom in and check for missed details, then choose an export method. Both Save and Copy flatten the masks into the image.

• Save… (⌘S): choose PNG, JPEG, HEIC, or TIFF. PNG is the default; your last format is remembered.
• Copy (⇧⌘C): puts the redacted image on the clipboard without creating a file.

A little more control.

v1.3+

Find Candidates helps you review.

Use ⌘F to read text on your Mac and find possible redaction targets. A candidate becomes a mask only after you review and accept it. Recognized text and search terms are not saved or sent.

Small text, strings split across lines, and email addresses can be missed. Always review the image yourself. An initial search can take about a minute.

Give the editor a shortcut.

Record a key combination in Settings. It is unassigned by default; you can also choose the recommended ⌃⌥⌘R. It works while the app is running. Press it again while the editor is in front to close the editor.

Adjust, undo, refine.

Use Undo and Redo, adjust zoom, or convert all masks to black. Closing the editor with ⌘W keeps your session available while the app is running.

Choose your atmosphere.

Choose Standard or Ink in Settings. Both support light and dark appearance. Only the interface changes; your redaction results stay the same.

Redact a PDF file.

In the Mac app from v1.4, choose a PDF file with “Open…” or drop it into the editor. Move between pages, place masks on each page, and review every page. To open a PDF, use a file; Paste does not open PDF content.

PDFs that require a password to open, PDFs over 256 MiB, and PDFs with 101 pages or more cannot be opened. Images and PDFs are processed on your device and are not uploaded by the app.

Redact on iPhone.

From v1.4, the app also runs on iPhone with iOS 17 or later. The flow is the same as on the Mac: import, mask, then export.

Import

• At first, bring in an image with “Choose Photo” or “Choose File” in the middle of the screen, or with the Paste button. After an image is open, the Open button at the top left (the photo icon with a plus) and the Paste button at the bottom replace it with another image. Choosing a photo does not ask for access to your whole photo library.
• If you replace the image while you have unsaved edits, the app asks first.

Place masks with your finger

• Drag over the image to draw a mask. Tap to select one, then drag to move it.
• Pinch with two fingers on a selected rectangle or ellipse to resize it. Elsewhere, two fingers pan and zoom the view. Freehand masks can be moved and deleted.
• Under “Mask settings,” choose the shape (rectangle, ellipse, freehand) and the mask type (black box, pixelate, blur). Adjust pixelate with “Block size” and blur with “Blur strength.” Use black box for sensitive information.
• “Find Candidates” reads text on your iPhone and suggests places to hide. A candidate is not a mask until you accept it. Some text can be missed, so check the image yourself before sharing.

Export

Choose an exit from the Export button at the top right (the share icon). Every exit flattens the masks into the image.

• Share: hands the result to the app you pick in the share sheet. It uses PNG.
• Save to Files: choose PNG, JPEG, HEIC, or TIFF, then pick where to save.
• Save to Photos: asks once for permission to add to Photos. It adds only and never asks to read your photos. If you decline, allow it in the Settings app. The format is PNG.
• Copy: puts the redacted image on the clipboard.

If pixelate or blur masks remain, a warning appears before export. Choose “Review Masks” to go back, or “Export Anyway” to continue. Under “Mask settings,” “Make all N masks black” turns every pixelate and blur mask into a black box at once.

PDF files

Choose a PDF file with “Choose File” (on the first screen, or under Open at the top left). Move between pages and place masks on each page. Export with “Share” or “Save to Files”; the result is a new PDF with every page flattened to an image.

PDFs that require a password to open, PDFs over 256 MiB, and PDFs with 101 pages or more cannot be opened.

In Settings, choose System, Light, or Dark appearance.