How to send a copy of your ID safely

Updated 2 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

First, ask what they need

People often ask for a whole ID when they only need to see your name or check your age. It's fine to ask, "Which details do you need?" You might be able to show it in person instead of sending a picture.

What to cover

It depends on who's asking, but these are often worth covering if they aren't needed:

• The ID number
• Your signature
• Your birth date, if they only need your name
• Your address, if it isn't relevant
• The machine-readable lines at the bottom of a passport

Step by step

1. Take a clean picture, or use the one you have.
2. Cover details with solid black boxes. Blur isn't safe for this.
3. Save it as a new copy, and check it by zooming in.
4. Remove the location. Here's how.
5. Send it directly to the person who asked, rather than posting it in a group chat.
6. Delete your extra copies afterwards, including the sent picture in your chat if you can. For anything you may need to prove later, first note who you sent it to and when.

When a covered copy won't work

A bank, a government office or an official identity check may need to see your whole ID, and a covered copy may be rejected. If that's so, make sure you're on the organisation's real website or app, and that you started the contact yourself. Be wary of anyone who messages you first asking for your ID.

How FirstHour helps

Share does most of this in one place. Choose a picture, and FirstHour suggests boxes over recognized ID and card numbers, codes and account numbers. You adjust them and send a copy without the location or camera details. Your original doesn't change. It only suggests boxes where it found something, and it doesn't find faces, so check the whole picture.

Questions

Sources

• What to know about identity theft, Federal Trade Commission
• Never use text pixelation to redact sensitive information, Bishop Fox
• Manage location metadata in Photos, Apple Support