Black marker is one of the few iPhone tricks to mark up something you don’t want to reveal on your screenshots or photos. However, iPhone guru can also use the photo edit feature to reveal what you think is hidden especially if the black marker is done on your iPhone. So, in this guide, we will take a look at how to see through black marker on iPhone.
Seeing through a black marker on iPhone screenshots isn’t magic. The black marker that covers the hidden information on the message can be made to lose its quality thereby revealing what the marker is covering on the image or photos.
With the right brightness settings, the black marker can fade off to see through it and identify what is hidden. While the black maker trick isn’t for iPhone users alone, if you have an Android you try something unique to see through it.
It’s pointless not to tell you that you can see through a black marker on paper or Snapchat if the black marker is done on an iPhone.
iPhone Markers
iPhone has a few markers that you have access to and can use on your iPhone to cover secret information or sensitive parts on the photo or paper. For iPhone 12 Pro Max, the iPhone has about 3 marker pens with a ruler. These markers include:
- Black marker pen
- Edible black marker
- Crayola black marker
Anyway, here is how to see through a black marker on an iPhone by following the steps below.
How to Blackout Text/PDF in Screenshot on an iPhone
Following the steps below you will learn how to blackout text in screenshots or images on your iPhone. It’s usually done by clicking the edit option at the top right corner of the image you want to blackout when you open. So, here are the steps.
- Open the TEXT or PDF you want to blackout.
- Tap on the “Markup button.
- Select “Black Markup.”
- Use your hand to paint the spot you want to be covered.
- Click on the “Save” tab at the top right.
- Choose “Save to Files.”
- Browser “Directory” above the screen.
- Rename the “New File” to something you can remember.
- Hit “Save” at the top right.
The blackout PDF or TEXT will be saved as a new file on your iPhone. You can open it to see if it’s completely blackout. If it doesn’t, then you need to repeat the process.
With these steps, you simply blackout or cover places you don’t want to reveal in a TEXT.
How to See Through Black Marker on iPhone
By following the steps below, you will learn how to see through a black marker on an iPhone [IF] it’s just a markup black image.
Photos App
- Launch your “iPhone Photo” App
- Now, Select the picture with “Black Marker.”
- Click on the “Edit Button.”
- Adjust the “Lightening” settings as follows:
- Brilliance: 100%
- Shadows: 100%
- Brightness: 100%
- With the settings above the black marker spot should be revealed. However, if you still can’t reveal the black marked spot, add these:
- Exposure: 100%
- Highlights: 100%
- Contrast: –100%
- Black Point: -100%
With the steps above you can clearly or relatively see through a black marker on your iPhone if you set the image preferences to the settings above. After doing that, you will be shocked at how visible the content behind the black market is.
NOTE: However, it’s worth noting that this only reveals the black marker information if it’s not too thick. If the black marker is too thick you will not be able to see what is under the marker.
Adjust Screen Brightness and Contrast
Adjusting the screen brightness and contrast can reveal the hidden information under the black marker. Here are the steps to take.
- Tap on the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
- Hit “Display & Brightness.”
- Drag the “Brightness” slider to the right for a brighter screen.
- Hit the back button and choose “Accessibility.”
- Select “Display & Text Size.”
- Toggle on “Increase Contrast.”
With both the “Contrast” and “Brightness” increased you stand the chance to see what is covered in the image or text.
NB: if you have an iPhone device, check this post for the best photo editing app you can use to cover any sensitive information on a picture better.
How to Hide Black Marker on iPhone
Now that you know how to see through a black marker on your iPhone. Would you wish other people see through your markup black marker on your iPhone? If “No”, then, by following the steps below you will make it impossible to reveal black marker information on your iPhone.
- Open your “iPhone Gallery App.”
- Select the “image” you want to add”Black Marker” to from your gallery.
- Click on the “Edit” button at the top right.
- Click on “Marker” next to “Adjust” at the top right.
- Click on the “Colour” option next to the “+” icon.
- Go to “Slider” and set:
- Red: 0
- Green: 0
- Blue: 0
- Opacity: 100%
- Select “Spectrum” and:
- Drag the colour point to the top right.
- Opacity: 100%
- Click “Grid” and:
- Choose “Black” at the top right.
- Opacity: 100%
- Go back to the “Markup” page and:
- Click on the “Black Markup.”
- Select the last “Option” for bigger markup.
- Add the “Black Marker” to the spot you want to blur or hide from the picture.
- Click on the “Done” button at the top right.
- Click “Done” at the bottom right.
Once you are done with the steps above no one will be able to see through your black marker on your iPhone.
Note: Always make sure that the black marker is thick on the information so that brightening it and increasing the contrast will not make it possible to reveal.
How to See Through a Black Marker on Andriod
If you have an Andriod Device, the photo editing app that comes preinstalled with your device will be quite different from that of an iPhone and some Android devices might not Have full editing capability such as painting an area black
However, if you have an Andriod device. An App you can use if you want to figure out How to see through a black marker is the Google Photos app
You can get the Google Photos App here if you don’t have it.
- Now, launch the app on your Andriod phone
- Select the image you want to see through the dark-shaded portion
- Click on the “edit” icon at the bottom left
- Move the suggestion option to the right until get to “adjust”. Over here you should see Brightness, contrast etc.
- Now, tap on each of these and set them to the number stated below
- Exposure change to 100
- Brilliance change to 100
- Contrast change to -100
- Highlights change to 100
- Shadows change to 100.
After doing this simply expand the area marked with black and the content under the shade would be visible.
NB: If you have an Android device, check this post for good photo editing apps that make it easier to cover a portion of a confidential image
How to See Through Black Marker on Samsung
If you use a Samsung Device, it is most likely that you are using the Default gallery App called Samsung Gallery Which is usually the default for most Samsung phones.
If you have that here is how you can see through the black marker on your Samsung Device
- On your Home screen swipe up to access the menu
- Lauch the Samsung Gallery App
- Now, tap on an Album with the photo with a black marker
- Next, tap on the “Pencil icon” below which signifies the edit
- After doing that, tap on the Tone icon to access the brightness, contrast etc
After doing this, adjust each of these filter options based on the instructions below.
- Exposure change to 100
- Brilliance change to 100
- Contrast change to -100
- Highlights change to 100
- Shadows change to 100.
Once you are done with this the content under the marker will be visible
Now, that we’ve explained the different ways how to see through a black marker, let’s delve into the different ways you can cover sensitive information so that no one will be able to view it
Third-Party Tools to Prevent Access to Blur Images
Whether you are using an Android device or an iPhone, this trick works on both.
It prevents anyone from seeing content that is marked, maybe you are a media personality and you post content to educate people etc, here are safer ways to cover any sensitive part of an image
1. Make use of the Pen Tool
The pen tool is different from the marker tool. However, the difference is the level of opacity the pen tool has which is 100%.
So no matter how the person from the other end tries to brighten the picture, they won’t be able to see the content under it.
However, it comes with a manageable back side, which is the fact that it could take longer to paint a section when compared to the marker tool
2. Add At Least 5 Highlighter Layers
You can make it impossible for someone to see through the content under a marked portion of an image if you highlight it multiple times.
What this means is you add different colours to cover the portion over and over again.
Dong this makes it much harder to see through it compared to doing it once
3. Use a Shape Tool
Another very effective option is to make use of the shape tool. It might not be available on some photo editing apps, but you can always get a simple app with more advanced photo editing features from app stores.
When you download it all you have to do is
- Select the image on your Gallery
- Tap on edit
- Select a shape.
- After doing that, place that shape over the area you want to mark. Also, give it a background colour.
- Add the shapes to the same spot twice
After doing that, you can be rest assured that no one can see through it.
4. Adding Emoji Icons to the area
Another common choice that is commonly seen among YouTubers is to add an emoji icon to the image.
Adding that to the image completely blocks the view of the covered part. However, the only downside to this is the shape of the icon and what you want to cover in the picture.
But you can always get the perfect icon shape that covers only what you want to be covered.
Can You See What is Behind Black Marked Area in iPhone?
Of course, you can see what is behind the Black marked area. However, it depends on how the person covered it. That is one of the reasons why you should use the markup tool when you want to cover confidential information that you are about to post online
Can You See What Is Behind Black Scribbles on Your iPhone?
It is quite easy to do that with a series of photo editing software. The process of doing that is just about the same as when you are trying to uncover a black marker.
So you shouldn’t use scribbles to cover confidential information instead follow the guidelines above.
Can one see through a Highlighter area on iPhone?
Well, it depends on your setting, plus you should avoid it, but if you want to use the highlighter tool, you need to ensure that you set the opacity to 100 per cent.
You can simply achieve this by tapping the area you just highlighted twice and dragging the opacity to 100 per cent
Conclusion
By now, you should have been able to figure out how to see through a black marker on your iPhone and Android device. That said, one of the things I would like to add is this; Placing an object over the image like adding a shape or icon over it gives you a better blockage than shading the place with any tool unless you are increasing the opacity to 100%.