How to blur sensitive information in a screen recording
Hide emails, names, API keys and account numbers in a screen recording. How to blur a region after recording on Windows, and how not to show it at all.
Updated · 2 minute read · By the Sceed team
To hide private details in a screen recording, add a blur over that part of the frame in an editor and export a new file. In Sceed, add a Privacy blur, drag the box over what should not be seen, and stretch its block on the timeline to cover the time it is visible. The blur is baked into the export and cannot be removed by the viewer.
What to look for
Email addresses and names, including the one on your own account menu.
API keys, tokens and passwords, including ones visible in a URL.
Customer data in tables and dashboards.
Browser tabs, bookmarks and autofill suggestions.
Notifications that slid in during the take.
File paths that contain your Windows user name.
Blur, pixelate or cover
A strong blur or a solid cover is safe. A light blur over large text can sometimes still be read, and very light pixelation of short text has been reversed in the past. Use a blur strong enough that no letter shapes survive, and make the box larger than the text.
Blurring in the editor
Privacy blur in Sceed is a box on the frame and a block on the timeline. It is in the free plan. The box stays where you put it on the recording, so if the page scrolls and the private text moves, either make the box tall enough to cover its whole travel or add a second blur for the new position.
Because Sceed draws the cursor after recording, the blur sits under the pointer: the cursor stays sharp while the content beneath it is hidden.
Better: do not record it
Record a single window rather than the whole screen.
Use a demo account with made-up data.
Use a clean browser profile with no bookmarks, history or extensions.
Turn on Do not disturb.
If a secret was typed on screen, treat it as leaked and change it, blur or no blur.
With Sceed, step by step
- 1
Find the moment
In the Sceed editor, move the playhead to where the private detail first appears.
- 2
Add a Privacy blur
Open Effects and add Privacy blur. A box appears on the preview and a block on the timeline.
- 3
Cover the detail
Drag and resize the box so it covers the text with a little margin.
- 4
Cover the time
Stretch the block so it starts before the detail appears and ends after it has gone.
- 5
Check, then export
Play through the whole block and watch the box. Then export.
New to Sceed? Install to export in five steps.
Questions
Can someone remove the blur from my video?
Not from an exported file. The blurred pixels replace the originals in the export. Keep the original recording private, because it still contains the unblurred picture.
Does the blur follow text when I scroll?
No. The box stays in one place on the recording. Cover the whole area the text moves through, or add another blur where it lands.
Is privacy blur free in Sceed?
Yes. Privacy blur and Pop-out are the two region effects in the free plan.
Can I blur a face from the webcam?
Privacy blur covers a region of the screen recording. To leave yourself out, hide the camera layer for that part of the video.
Keep reading
More guides on editing
- How to zoom in on a screen recordingAdd smooth zooms to a screen recording so viewers can read the small things: when to zoom, how far, and how to do it on Windows without keyframes.
- How to smooth the cursor in a screen recordingFix a shaky, jittery mouse pointer in a screen recording. How cursor smoothing works, and how to change the cursor’s size, look and colour after recording.
- How to add a background and a frame to a screen recordingPut a screen recording on a gradient background with padding, rounded corners, a shadow and a window frame, the look of modern product videos, on Windows.