Hidden text scan · image
What text is hiding in this image?
An image file is not only the picture. Mixed in with the binary there is often readable text: the software that made it, embedded comments, colour-profile names, and sometimes a message or even another file hidden after the image data. This pulls out every readable string so you can see it.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your image is never uploaded or stored.
Scanning…
Why there is text inside an image
Image formats carry more than pixels. A JPEG holds metadata blocks, a colour profile, and often the name and version of the program that saved it. A PNG stores named text chunks. All of that is plain, readable text sitting inside the file, which is why a scan of almost any photo returns something. Most of it is ordinary boilerplate, so the value is in spotting the string that does not belong.
What to look for
Scan for anything out of place: a message, a name, a URL, a file path from someone's computer, or
the header of a second file such as another JFIF, a PK ZIP archive or a
<?php tag appended after the image ends. A block of readable text far down the
file, past where the picture data should stop, is the classic sign of data smuggled inside an
image. Raise the minimum length to cut the short noise strings and make a real message stand out.
What it does and does not prove
This finds readable ASCII text only. It will not surface data that is compressed, encrypted, or hidden in the low bits of the pixels, which is a different technique. And a surprising string is a lead, not a verdict, since editors and cameras write all sorts of internal text. Pair it with the metadata viewer to see the structured tags, and the true file type check to confirm the file really is what it claims.