Here is a list of 5 free Steganography tools to hide data in Photos.
If you are looking for something that can help you secretly hide data on your system, all you need is a handy Steganography tool. Steganography refers to the method of encoding files or data in other files, so that no one can even suspect there’s something hidden inside them. There are different types of Steganography tools available free on web, some allows hiding data in PDFs, documents, and audio files, while others in pictures. We have earlier reviewed some free software that offers hiding files in other files. Today we are going to focus particularly on Image Steganography tools; those that allows hiding files in photos.
Below we have reviewed OpenStego, Steganography, Our Secret, Image Steganography, and Shusssh! Let’s have a look.
OpenStego:
First in the list is OpenStego, a simple and easy to use tool to secretly hide data in image files. The software allows you to hide any type of file (.txt, .exe, .zip, .doc, .jpg, and more) inside a picture, provided that the size of the file is not larger than the picture. All the common image file formats (.jpg, .gif, .bmp, and .png) are allowed to be used as cover file.
It further provide options to compress, encrypt, and password protect files, so that even if someone gets to know there’s something inside them, they won’t be able to access the files without your permission.
Overall working of the software is easy, with two dedicated sections for file embedding and extraction. Interface is simple but it could have been more impressive. Though the software is quite powerful and flexible in terms of the source and cover file selection.
Full Review: Click here to read full review.
Software Homepage: Click here to visit the homepage of OpenStego.
Steganography:
Next is Steganography, another Image Steganography tool available free in its beta release. It’s a simple and handy software that lets you hide archives (.zip or .rar) in photos (.jpg only). If you have big files that you want to keep out of sight from others, that too secretly, then this is the tool for you. Simply create an archive of your file and embed it inside a photo using Steganography, so that no one can sense the presence of it on your system.
The most remarkable feature of the software is that it doesn’t put any limit on the file size. That means, the size of the source archive can be anything, and it can even be larger than the size of the cover file! In such case, the size of the output file becomes equivalent to the sum of size of the source archive and size of the cover image (output file type remains same, that is of the cover image).
However, if someone tries to open this image file with an archive opener, he would easily see the source archive and the cover photo as separate contents of the zipped image. Also, if someone accidentally edits the photo, the hidden data would be lost.
All in all, Steganography is quite simple and easy to use, but had there been a way to password protect output photos, the software would be more worthy.
Full Review: Click here to read full review.
Software Homepage: Click here to visit the homepage of Steganography.
Our Secret:
Our Secret is an interesting Steganography tool that not only allows hiding files, but also text, or to be precise, messages in photos. The tool offers a password protection feature to completely lock your sensitive data.
Our Secret also uses the same approach as of Steganography, that is, to merge the two file (and/or message) to create an output steganographed image. So if the size of the photo exceeds too much, anybody would guess there’s something inside it. So take care while you embed files or text in photos using Our Secret. As for the number of files it can embed in a photo, there’s no limit to that.
The input file can be of any format while the cover photo should preferably be JPEG (though audio files can also be taken as carrier files). Overall, the tool is quite handy and worth a try.
Full Review: Click here to read full review.
Software Homepage: Click here to visit the homepage of Our Secret.
Image Steganography:
Like Our Secrets, Image Steganography is another handy, free Steganography tool that lets you easily hide files or text in photos. You can embed any kind of file in a photo; however, only one file can be embedded at a time.
Image Steganography supports almost all common image file formats to be taken as carrier file. The only thing you need to take care is that the file size should not be less than the size of the source file. It even offers to encrypt the encoded file (or text) using custom password. So even if someone senses you have encoded the file, he won’t be able to access the hidden data.
Image Steganography works with different Steganography modes. Read more about the software using the link given below or access it via the Software Homepage link.
Full Review: Click here to read full review.
Software Homepage: Click here to visit the homepage of Steganography.
Shusssh!
Last is Shusssh!, a simple tool to encrypt text messages and secretly hide them in photos. The program comes with a minimalistic interface, and can be operated easily. As an obvious thing, the software supports both encryption and decryption of the textual data, and its primary use is on sending or receiving sensitive information via email.
There is no limit to the number of words you can enter in your message, so you can even copy-paste the entire text written inside a file and hide it in a photo using this free Steganography tool. The photo can be of any common image file format, like .jpeg, .bmp, .gif, or .tif. The tool also lets you convert the type of the output image and save it in another image file format.
All in all, Shusssh! is quite handy and a worth trying software if you have to send confidential data over email.
Full Review: Click here to read full review.
Software Homepage: Click here to visit the homepage of Shusssh!
These were some of the free Steganography tools that lets you hide text or files in photos. Next time you need to secretly hide some data on your system, do give them a try. Share your feedback or suggestions with us via the comments sections below.
If you don’t need to hide files but want to prevent them from unwanted access, you can try this free file and folder locker software.
