Frequently asked questions
Direct answers about how RedactOffline detects text, what it does and doesn't redact, what happens to the original photo, and what it costs.
Does RedactOffline upload my photos anywhere?
No. RedactOffline has zero network calls in its codebase — there is no analytics, no crash reporting, and no server component. The only network-capable code path in the app is StoreKit, used solely for the one-time Pro purchase.
Does RedactOffline detect faces?
No. RedactOffline detects and redacts text only. It has no face detection and no face-blurring feature.
What kinds of text does RedactOffline detect automatically?
The on-device classifier detects email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, person names, links, credit card numbers, IBANs, and passport or ID machine-readable zones (MRZ). On iPhones running iOS 26 or later, an additional Apple Intelligence pass can also flag dates of birth, national ID numbers, usernames, and other sensitive text.
How does RedactOffline validate a credit card number?
It checks the number against the Luhn algorithm, the standard checksum used to validate card numbers, which reduces false positives from random digit strings that happen to be 16 digits long.
How does RedactOffline validate an IBAN?
It checks the number against the mod-97 checksum defined in the IBAN standard.
Can I add my own custom terms to redact?
Yes. You can add specific terms — a name, a project codename, an account number — and RedactOffline will look for exact matches on every photo you open.
What is the difference between solid fill, blur, and pixelate?
Solid fill replaces the selected region with a single flat color, permanently discarding the pixel data underneath. Blur and pixelate apply a filtered version of the image over the region instead, which obscures it visually but preserves more of the underlying structure than solid fill does. Solid fill is included free; blur and pixelate are unlocked by the one-time purchase.
Is a blurred region as safe as a solid-filled one?
No. Blur and pixelate are flattened into the exported image so they cannot be casually reverted, but pixel-level blur and pixelation are, in principle, reversible with the right tools, and published research has demonstrated attacks against both. Use solid fill for anything that actually matters.
See why blurred screenshots can be unredacted for the full explanation.
Does redacting a photo change the original in my library?
No. RedactOffline always creates a new image when you export. The original photo is never modified, and the unredacted version exists only in memory for the length of the editing session.
Does the exported photo keep the location or camera metadata from the original?
No. The export path builds a new image from the re-rendered result rather than carrying forward the original file's metadata dictionary, so location and camera metadata (EXIF/GPS) from the original photo are not present in the exported file.
Do I need an internet connection to use RedactOffline?
No. Text detection and redaction both run entirely on the device using Apple's Vision framework. RedactOffline works the same with the phone in airplane mode.
What iPhone models and iOS versions does RedactOffline support?
RedactOffline requires iOS 16.0 or later and runs on iPhone only — there is no iPad, Mac, or Android version. The additional Apple Intelligence detection pass requires iOS 26 or later.
What languages does text detection support?
Automatic language detection covers English (en-US) and German (de-DE) by default. Dutch (nl-NL) is added at runtime if the device has the Dutch Vision model installed.
How much does RedactOffline cost?
Free to download. The free version includes automatic detection, custom terms, batch import, the Share Extension, solid-fill redaction, and 10 redacted exports over the lifetime of the install. A one-time $6.99 in-app purchase unlocks the blur and pixelate styles and removes the export limit. There is no subscription. Note that solid fill — the style recommended for anything sensitive — is the free one.
Can RedactOffline redact PDFs or videos?
No. RedactOffline works on photos and screenshots only — there is no PDF support and no video support.
See alternatives for tools that handle PDFs or video.