Dont accidentally reveal your identity in screenshots and videos!

Whether you're streaming, screen sharing, or just posting a screenshot, it's easy to share information you don't want to. Here's how you can hide your personal information when sharing content online.

Table of Contents

• 1. Hide search suggestions and bookmarks on the browser
• 2. Turn off notifications on the taskbar
• 3. Separate private and public activities 
• 4. Blur sensitive information and avoid blurring
• 5. Select specific window when recording screen

1. Hide search suggestions and bookmarks on the browser

First and foremost, you should hide your search suggestions and bookmarks in your browser. Have you recently searched for a local business or hospital? If someone sees this, they can figure out where you live. Not to mention any embarrassing content that might appear.

Most major browsers support turning off search suggestions. Here's how you can turn them off:

• Google Chrome : Go to Settings > You and Google > Sync and Google services > Other Google services and turn off the Autocomplete searches and URLs toggle .
• Safari : Click through to Preferences > Search and uncheck Include search engine suggestions .
• Microsoft Edge : Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Services > Address bar and search > Search suggestions and filters and turn off the Show me suggestions from history, favorites and other data on this device using my typed characters switch .
• Firefox : Click through to Settings > Search > Search Suggestion and uncheck Provide search suggestions as well as suggestions listed in Address Bar — Firefox Suggest .

Tip : If you want to make sure your history doesn't appear in search suggestions, clear your search history as well.

You should also delete or hide your bookmarks before recording your screen. Most browsers allow you to hide the bookmark bar with a simple keyboard shortcut. Here's how you can hide your bookmarks:

• Google Chrome : Click the star icon to the right of the search bar, then click the Pin icon > Show favorites bar and select Never or Only on new tabs .
• Safari : Open the View preferences panel and click Hide Favorites Bar .
• Microsoft Edge : Click Settings > Appearance > Customize toolbar > Show favorites bar and select Never or Only on new tabs .
• Firefox : Navigate to Bookmarks and click Hide bookmarks toolbar .

Note that the bookmarks bar may still appear when you open a new tab, depending on your browser's settings. If you're concerned, consider manually removing obvious or confusing bookmarks.

2. Turn off notifications on the taskbar

If you have taskbar notifications enabled for social media or work-related sites, you may be inadvertently revealing more information than you want. (This is also true for Steam notifications, since you can’t control exactly which inappropriately titled games your friends choose to play, or when.)

You can turn off taskbar notifications on Windows by going to Settings > System > Notifications & actions and turning off Get notifications from apps and other senders . Apps that use their own notification delivery mechanisms, like Steam and Skype, must be turned off separately. Here's how you can turn off notifications for both apps:

• Steam : Navigate to Steam > Settings > Notifications and change the Show Notification Toasts... setting to Never .
• Skype : Click through to Settings > Notifications and turn off all the toggles in the first section, including Chat notifications and Contact comes online notification .

This is the same process for most apps, but you'll have to test it individually.

3. Separate private and public activities

While turning off notifications and cleaning up your browser will help keep you safe, the best way to protect yourself is simply to separate your personal and public activities.

You can do this by creating a separate user account on Windows or macOS and connecting your browser to a separate professional email account. Things like private notifications and annoying search suggestions are almost always tied to your operating system or email account, so you can eliminate most of the problems at the source by not using them while screen sharing or streaming.

4. Blur sensitive information and avoid blurring

You might be surprised, but blurring information is not safe. Many people also make the mistake of editing text with the semi-transparent pen tool, and as a result, their edits are easily reversed.

There are a number of methods you can use to redact sensitive information from your photos, but the most reliable method is to black out the information. You can do this in any app that has a pen tool. Just make sure the tool you use is set to 100% opacity.

To be clear, you should never attempt to censor information by:

• Use the highlight tool
• Use digital effects, like blurring

Instead, you can use one or more of the following methods to remove personal information from your photos and videos:

• Remove location data from photos using EXIF ​​removal app
• Use the blur pen tool or insert a shape to cover up personal information on photos
• Remove exposed elements from websites using a browser extension like uBlock Origin
• Edit on-screen elements with overlays in apps like OBS

Remember that if you're sharing footage or photos using your webcam, your surroundings can also reveal personal information. For example, the position of the sun in a photo or video can indicate what time zone you're in.

If you plan on using your webcam or sharing photos, be sure to look in the background for anything you don't realize is there. Mirrors, scattered documents, photos, or even just a glimpse of what's out the window can reveal more information than you might expect.

5. Select specific window when recording screen

Last but not least, you should avoid sharing your entire screen whenever possible. When sharing your screen, you are usually given the option to share a specific window or your entire screen, and the latter option is usually not worth the risk.

Sharing your entire screen is useful when you need to show multiple apps or want to eliminate audio issues, but the downside is that anything that appears on your screen will be visible.

So if you forget to close an app or can't clear all the notifications on the taskbar, sharing a specific app window will ensure those notifications aren't visible to viewers.

Of course, you may not need to use all five methods to maintain your privacy. As long as you make an effort to hide your personal information and maintain professional habits, staying safe online is a simple task.