Comparison · checked on 9 October 2026
Blurring faces: which tool for which need?
Several tools can mask faces or erase metadata, and none suits every case. This comparison summarises what each one does, based on its documentation and the press. Noppera appears as its test version stands: the app is not published yet.
| Tool | Platform | Photos | Videos | Detection | Metadata erased | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noppera | iOS, Android (in testing) | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Yes, checked on every file produced | From the gallery, through the Share menu, with a job queue. In testing, not published yet; videos on iOS only for now. |
| Signal | iOS, Android | Yes | No | Automatic, plus a manual brush | Not stated in the sources consulted | Only inside Signal's image editor. Processed on the device. |
| Image Scrubber | Web browser | Yes | No | Manual (brush) | Yes (EXIF) | Works offline in the browser. Last code push: 25 February 2022. |
| ObscuraCam | Android | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Yes (GPS, device model) | Version 5.0.0-RC-1; repository last updated in June 2022. Distributed through F-Droid. |
| Anonymous Camera | iOS | Yes | Yes | Automatic (faces or bodies) | Yes | Built for shooting and filming live. Can hide the whole body and distort the voice. |
Which one to choose?
- You are sending a photo in Signal: the built-in tool is enough.
- You want to process a photo on a computer without installing anything: Image Scrubber.
- You film live on an iPhone and want faces masked from the moment of capture: Anonymous Camera.
- You are on Android and accept software whose repository has not moved since 2022: ObscuraCam.
- You already have photos and videos in your gallery, on iOS or Android, to process in batches and send from the Share menu: Noppera, once it is published.
- Mainstream editors (CapCut, Picsart, Pixlr) also offer face blurring. They are built for editing, not privacy: check whether your file is sent to a server before trusting them with sensitive images.
None of these tools makes an image anonymous on its own: always check the result, and think about the setting, the clothes and the voice.
How this comparison was made
The information comes from the tools' documentation and the press, consulted on 9 October 2026. We did not test every app on a device. If a line is outdated or wrong, tell us through Ombra and we will fix it.