Example implementations relate to hiding sensitive data. For example, a device according to the present disclosure may include a scanning portion to receive a scan of a document, and a graphical user interface to receive a command with respect to the sensitive data. The device may also include a processor to analyze the scan of the document, process the command via the graphical user interface, determine the document contains sensitive data in response to the command, and perform an action to hide the sensitive data.

The invention provides methods and apparatus for securing personalized or sensitive information appearing in digital images. Digital images containing information to be secured is processed and divided into a plurality of image cells. At least one image cell from the plurality of image cells is selected and redacted or altered to render the information to be secured with the selected image cells indecipherable. The invention also provides methods and apparatus for transmitting or streaming unredacted image cells alone or in combination with redacted image cells for secured viewing on a user browser or computer.

An image forming apparatus includes circuitry to: receive an instruction for copying an image of a document from a user; acquire biometric information of the user; and embed user information in the image, the user information including one of the biometric information of the user and information for specifying the biometric information of the user; and an image forming device to print the image having the user information embedded, on a recording medium to output a copied image.

An image processing apparatus includes: a document reading section that reads an image from an original document; a character recognizing section that preforms processing for subjecting image data obtained by reading of the image by the document reading section to character recognition; a conversion section that performs, using a recognition result of the character recognizing section, conversion of the image data obtained by reading by the document reading section to data available within predetermined application software; and a determination section that determines whether or not a text represented by the recognition result of the character recognizing section contains a predetermined keyword. When the determination section determines that the text contains the predetermined keyword, the conversion section performs the conversion in a limitedly editable format, whereas when the determination section determines that the text does not contain the predetermined keyword, the conversion section performs the conversion in a freely editable format.

Digital redacting stylus enabling footprint-less marking of redaction targets on a physical original document, and system involving the stylus and a multifunction peripheral device that uses the unaltered physical original document itself, together with data from the stylus to print out, or otherwise visually represent, an accordingly redacted copy of the physical original document. The stylus can also enable a user to add words, not present in the physical original document, to an OCR-scanned digital copy of the original document that is then printed out or visually represented.

A visual privacy system unilaterally blocks rolling shutter cameras by providing a periodically interrupted ambient light source imposing bright and dark bands on the image yet at a frequency imperceptible to human observers in the environment. Communication of the modulation pattern to authorized cameras allows unaffected imaging in these regions by authorized individuals. The system also contemplates operation in a barcoding mode with a light modulation providing embedded barcodes that can be extracted from images taken in the region to indicate that the images were improperly acquired and to block the images in certain applications.

A visual privacy system unilaterally blocks rolling shutter cameras by providing a periodically interrupted ambient light source imposing bright and dark bands on the image yet at a frequency imperceptible to human observers in the environment. Communication of the modulation pattern to authorized cameras allows unaffected imaging in these regions by authorized individuals. The system also contemplates operation in a barcoding mode with a light modulation providing embedded barcodes that can be extracted from images taken in the region to indicate that the images were improperly acquired and to block the images in certain applications.

An image processing apparatus is communicable with a system including a censorship function, and includes one or more controllers having one or more processors and one or more memories, and the one or more controllers are configured to transmit an image acquired by reading a display medium to the system, receive a censorship result from the system, and control the image processing apparatus to perform a predetermined operation corresponding to the received censorship result, wherein the predetermined operation is a preset operation to be performed by the image processing apparatus based on the received censorship result.

A system and a method for processing an image. The method includes the steps of: receiving a source image having at least one sensitive portions arranged to present intelligible sensitive information; and processing, with a predetermined redacting method, the at least one sensitive portions of the source image to generate an output image including the intelligible sensitive information being transformed into an unintelligible form; wherein the sensitive information in the unintelligible form is adapted to be restored to an intelligible form.

An image processing apparatus includes: a document reading section that reads an image from an original document; a character recognizing section that preforms processing for subjecting image data obtained by reading of the image by the document reading section to character recognition; a conversion section that performs, using a recognition result of the character recognizing section, conversion of the image data obtained by reading by the document reading section to data available within predetermined application software; and a determination section that determines whether or not a text represented by the recognition result of the character recognizing section contains a predetermined keyword. When the determination section determines that the text contains the predetermined keyword, the conversion section performs the conversion in a limitedly editable format, whereas when the determination section determines that the text does not contain the predetermined keyword, the conversion section performs the conversion in a freely editable format.