Photos of parcels and delivery labels

Updated 4 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

What a label can show

A shipping label is made to be read by strangers. Depending on the shop and the courier, it may carry:

• Your full name and home address, often with a postcode or ZIP code.
• A phone number or email address.
• A tracking number and barcode, and sometimes an order number.
• The sender, which says where you shop.
• Sometimes a QR code. We can't tell what one holds without scanning it, so treat it as sensitive.

This is general. Labels differ by country and courier, so look at yours.

Before you share a photo

People share parcel pictures to show a delivery arrived, to sell or return something, or to post an unboxing. In every case, the other person needs to see the item, not your address.

1. Look at the whole picture. Check the box, the tape, a receipt slipped in the bag and the doormat behind it. A door number in the background can give your address away too.
2. Decide what the person needs. A seller or support team may need an order number to help you. Ask, "What do you need to see?" and cover the rest.
3. Cover with solid black boxes in a new copy. Blur can leave text readable. Here's why black boxes are safer. Make each box bigger than the text, then zoom in and check every edge.
4. Remove the location. A parcel photo taken on your doorstep may carry where it was taken. Here's how to remove it.
5. Or avoid the problem. Turn the label to the wall, peel it off first, or photograph the item without the box. If you're selling, this guide covers what a buyer needs.

For an unboxing post, remember that it stays online for anyone to see. A tracking number may look harmless, but it is easier to cover than to explain later. This is our advice.

What to delete afterwards

• Photos you took only to prove a delivery, once the matter is settled.
• Screenshots of order confirmations and tracking pages. They can hold your address and phone number. Screenshots are a quiet diary.
• Photos of receipts you don't need. If you need one, cover the details first.

Keep one record if you're in a dispute or waiting on a refund. Delete it when that's over. Deleted pictures stay in Recently Deleted for a while, so empty that too if you want them gone.

Texts about parcels

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns about unexpected texts about packages. It says a text about an unclaimed package that appears to come from USPS, Costco or The Home Depot is not from them, and it says not to pay to get a package redelivered. It also says not to click links in unexpected texts, and, if a message might be real, to contact the company using a website or phone number you know is real rather than the details in the text. On USPS, the FTC says the real USPS won't contact you out of the blue about a delivery unless you submitted a request and gave a tracking number. Those are US examples, but our advice is to use the same habit anywhere: check your parcel through the shop's own app or the courier's own website, not through a link in a message.

Disposing of the box

This is our advice, not a rule from any courier. The label on a box in the recycling is a printed copy of your address.

• Peel the label off and tear it up, or cut out the name and address. A marker pen alone may not hide the text, so tear or cut as well.
• Shred the packing slip and any receipt inside.
• Flatten and recycle the box once the label is gone. Check your local recycling rules for tape and plastic.

How FirstHour helps

Tidy up sorts the pictures on your iPhone into groups such as Receipts, Shopping and Documents and papers, so you can find old order pictures and clear them a little at a time. iPhone asks before anything leaves Photos, and sorting isn't perfect, so look through a group before you delete it.

To share a copy, Share lets you add boxes, move them and resize them, then sends a copy without the location or camera details. Black out saves a copy with solid boxes, and your original doesn't change.

Here is what it can't do. Protect looks for cards, IDs, backup codes and the like. Addresses and parcel labels aren't on its list, so FirstHour may not suggest a box over them. Drag your own boxes over the name, address, phone number and tracking number. Share and Black out also have a Cover all text option that boxes everything FirstHour can read as writing; it can miss things, so check the result. Protect doesn't check videos or your Hidden album, and FirstHour can't see inside other apps and doesn't find faces. It can't take back a picture you already sent, and it can't judge whether a text about a parcel is real.

Questions

Sources

• Don't click on that random text. It's a scam, Federal Trade Commission, 8 August 2022. Last checked 4 November 2026.

The rest of this page is general advice. It makes no claims about how any courier or app works beyond what is stated above.