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How to Use the Google Photos Redact Pen on Android

Blur plates, receipts, and screenshots with the Google Photos Redact pen: Markup steps, styles, and save-as-copy tips.

September 28, 2026 Yum News

Google Photos added a Redact pen to Markup on Android on 24 September 2026. The tool covers license plates, account numbers, addresses, and other private text before you share a still or a screenshot.

Google lists the markup upgrade as rolling out globally in Google Photos on Android. It is not a paid Google AI Pro feature. This guide sticks to the official product post and the Markup path that already ships in the editor.

What the Redact pen actually does

Markup used to give you Pen, Highlight, and Text. The September update adds a Redact pen so you can hide pixels instead of drawing a black scribble over them.

Google’s product post groups three Markup changes together: the redact pen for sensitive info, thickness sliders for sketches, and new fonts for the Text tool. Use Redact first. Add arrows and captions after the private bits are already covered.

Hands-on reports of the tool in Photos 7.89 describe three cover styles: Mosaic, Mosaic Light, and a grainy Blur. Treat those names as what testers saw in the panel. Google’s own blog only promises a pen that blurs sensitive info.

Redact does not remove the original file from shared albums. It only paints over a copy you choose to save. If the photo already sits in a link, update the share after you save.

Person editing a photo on a smartphone at a desk

Check the app before you hunt for the tool

Open the Play Store and update Google Photos.
Open a still photo or a screenshot. Video markup is not part of this rollout.
Tap Edit at the bottom.
Open Markup. On some skins the path is Edit → Tools → Markup or Edit → More → Markup.
Look for Redact next to Pen, Highlight, and Text.

If you only see the old three tools, the server-side rollout has not reached that account yet. Google described a global Android rollout, not a Pixel-only flag. Wait a day and update again before you assume a bug.

Markup remains an Android editor feature. Google did not list an iPhone date in the September post.

Hide private details, step by step

Open the photo in Google Photos.
Tap Edit, then Markup.
Choose the Redact pen.
If a style row appears, pick Mosaic for tight text, Mosaic Light for a coarser block, or Blur for a noisy wash. If the row is missing, use the default cover the build gives you.
Drag the thickness slider down for a single line of text. Drag it up for a whole badge or a receipt block.
Zoom in with two fingers. Paint over plates, school names, ticket QR codes, Slack handles, and document numbers.
Use undo if a stroke spills onto a face you meant to keep.
Tap the checkmark to leave Markup.
Tap Save as copy. Keep the original clean so you can print or archive it later.

Do not rely on a black Pen stroke. A thin gap in ink still leaks digits when someone pinches to zoom.

Close-up of a phone screen showing a photo library grid

What to redact before you post

Work through the frame once, then share.

Vehicle plates and parking permits in street photos.
Street numbers and mailbox names in porch shots.
Boarding passes, hotel keys, and event wristbands.
Screenshots that show email addresses, 2FA codes, or chat names.
Kids’ school logos on jerseys and backpacks.

Redact is a cover, not encryption. Anyone with the original file still sees the raw pixels. Delete or archive the unedited shot if that copy should not travel.

For a broader September Photos toolkit, including Moods and Remix, see our Wardrobe, Moods, and Remix guide. Use that article when you want styles. Stay here when the job is hiding text.

Pair Redact with the rest of Markup

After the cover is solid, switch to Pen or Highlight for callouts. The new thickness sliders help you draw a thin arrow without covering the redaction.

Add Text last. Google added extra fonts in the same update. Keep captions short so they do not sit on top of a mosaic block and invite people to guess what sits underneath.

This official Google Help walkthrough shows the Android Photos editor, including the Markup slot among Adjust, Crop, and Tools:

Tips that keep the cover honest

Save as copy every time. Overwriting the original removes your fallback if a stroke is ugly.
Zoom to 100 percent and scan edges. A one-pixel sliver of a digit is enough to reconstruct a plate.
Redact first on screenshots of chats. Then crop. Cropping after a sloppy stroke can reveal the edge of a name.
Do not use Magic Eraser to “remove” an address. Eraser fills from nearby pixels and can leave readable ghosts. Redact replaces the region on purpose.
Recheck shared links. A live album still serves the old file until you replace it.
Skip Redact on photos you do not own. Blurring someone else’s document does not make the capture legal.

Conclusion

Update Google Photos, open Edit → Markup, and paint with the Redact pen before you tap Share. Save a copy. Leave the original in the library only if you still need the unmasked file.

If Markup still lacks Redact after an update, wait for the global Android rollout to finish. The rest of the September Photos set — Moods, Remix, Wardrobe — lives on other tabs and does not replace this cover tool.