How to hide a credit card number in a photo
Cover the card number, expiry date and CVV in a photo or screenshot before you post or send it. Why blur fails on card numbers, and what to keep visible.
Updated · 2 min read
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Open Credit / debit cardThe short answer
Cover the full card number with a solid box, leaving at most the last 4 digits, and cover the expiry date. Never share the CVV on the back at all. Blur and pixelation are not enough for card numbers, because digits in a known layout are some of the easiest text to guess back.
Where card numbers end up in photos
- A photo of a new card, posted to celebrate or sent to a family member.
- Unboxing photos, desk photos and receipts lying in the background.
- Screenshots of a banking app, a checkout page or a card statement.
- Photos sent to customer support to show a damaged or blocked card.
In each case, the recipient almost never needs more than the last 4 digits and the bank name.
Phone cameras are sharp enough that a card on a table in the corner of a photo can still be readable once someone zooms in. Look at the whole picture, not just the main subject, before you post it.
What to cover on a card
| Detail | Cover it? |
|---|---|
| Card number | Yes, all but the last 4 digits at most |
| Expiry date | Yes |
| CVV (back) | Always. Don't photograph it at all if you can avoid it |
| Cardholder name | Usually, unless the recipient needs it |
| Signature strip (back) | Yes |
| Bank name and card network logo | Usually fine to keep |
How to hide it
- Open Blur credit card and drop in the photo, or paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac).
- Card numbers are found automatically and checked against the card checksum, so random numbers aren't flagged by mistake. OCR reads photos even when they're sideways.
- Tick the expiry date and name if you want them covered too, and draw a box over the CVV or signature strip.
- Keep the style on Solid. The editor warns you if you switch to blur or pixelate over text.
- Download. Location and camera details (EXIF) are removed from the new image.
If a full card number has already been posted or sent, contact your bank. Covering it later doesn't undo copies others may have saved.
Questions
Is it safe to show the last 4 digits?
Receipts and statements commonly show them, so they're generally treated as low risk. If you don't need them visible, cover them too.
Why not just blur the number?
A 16-digit number in a standard font has few possibilities per character, which makes blurred digits easier to recover. A solid box leaves nothing to recover.