In this post, we have covered some best free steganography tools to hide text in images for Windows 11/10. In the steganography technique, you can hide secret data or a text message in an ordinary or regular file to avoid detection. The same technique is used in the steganography tools added in this post. These tools support different image types, including PNG, TIFF, BMP, etc. Some of these tools provide the feature to hide EXE or a TXT file in an image file. You only need to make sure that the size of the file that you want to hide or conceal should not be too large to handle for the input file.
The processed or output image containing the hidden text file or message looks and functions like any other image or photo. You can open it in an image viewer or editor tool. There will be little to no noticeable change. The only difference would be to file size and the fact that it will contain a secret text inside it that can be revealed using the same tool you’re using.
Let’s have a look at these free steganography tools.
JHide is a simple and portable steganography software for Windows 11/10. This open-source tool supports TIFF, BMP, PNG, and TIF image file types for hiding text in an image. Not only just a text file, but it can also hide a ZIP file or other supported file type. You can even use this tool to hide an image in another image.
To use this steganography tool, download its JAR file from sourceforge.net. You need to install Java so that you can open the JAR file and then the tool interface will be in front of you.
Now, there are two main parts only; Hide and Unhide in this tool. Let’s check them.
Once you get the output image, use the image as you like.
QuickStego is also a freeware for Windows 11/10 that you can use to hide a TXT file in a GIF, JPEG, BMP, or JPG image. The output image can be saved in BMP format only.
It doesn’t let you encrypt and password protect the text message before hiding it. But this steganography tool lets you edit the content of the text file before hiding that text in the output image which is a good feature.
For using this tool, download its EXE from quickcrypto.com. Install the tool and open its interface where the available options or buttons are self-explanatory. Use those options and hide/unhide text in an image and from an image. The available options are:
ImageSteganography is the simplest tool on this list. This is a web-based tool that requires a browser to hide a message in an image. You will have the option to encode the message which is good as you will need the same encoding key or password to reveal the concealed message when needed.
In order to use this tool, first, open its homepage from github.com. There, use the Drop-down menu button (in green color) to download its ZIP file. Extract that file and then open the index.html file in a browser.
Now the tool interface will be in front of you. There, click on the Select file button to add a supported image from your computer. Use the Encode section, add a password of your choice, and enter your message in the given text box.
Press the Hide message button and it will encrypt that text message in the image and provide you an Encoded Image on the bottom section of its interface. Right-click on the encoded image and use the Save as option to store it.
The next time when you want to reveal the hidden message, use the Select File button on its interface to add the encoded image. Enter the password in the required field, and press the Reveal message button. This will instantly show the message hidden in that image.
Steganography Online is one of the simplest tools on this list. This free online steganography tool comes with only two but valuable features i.e., hide text in an image and unhide secret text from an image. Your text message and image are not transmitted anywhere which is good. All the processing is done within your browser.
It doesn’t support TXT or other file types for hiding the text in an image. You need to paste or add the text message by yourself that you want to hide. Later, you can reveal hidden text from the output image using the same tool.
To hide text in an image using this tool, open its homepage from github.io. There you will have two tabs or sections (Encode and Decode) which cover everything. Let’s check how to use these sections.
In the Encode section, there is a Choose File button that you can use to add a PNG, JPG, or other supported image file. Once the image is added, the image preview is also visible on the same page. Now, use the text box to enter the message that you want to hide. The limit to adding your text message entirely depends on the image size. So, if you want to hide a large text, you should use a large size image.
After adding the message, press the Encode button. This will generate the binary representation of your text message as well as the output image that will store that text message secretly. Now, right-click on the output image and use Save as to store the image on your Windows 11/10 computer.
When you want to decode the text message stored in that image, open the homepage of this tool, and switch to the Decode tab or section. Use the Choose File button to add the image containing the secret message. Press the Decode button and hidden text will visible in a Hidden message text box. Overall, the tool works well but it shows boxes or garbage content after the decoded message. But that can be ignored.
Steganography Online Codec lets you encode a hidden message in an image file using the AES 256-bit encryption algorithm. This online tool comes with a nice interface and two sections. One is used to encode a hidden message in an image and the other is for decoding the hidden message from an image.
To use it, open its homepage from pelock.com. Scroll down the interface and then you will see both the main sections. Now, on the Encode hidden message section, you can either drop a supported image file or use the Browse button. It supports a lot of image formats which include PNG, PJP, JFIF, SVGZ, WEBP, ICO, TIFF, DIB, XBM, SVG, GIF, AVIF, etc. You can see the image thumbnail after adding it.
Now enter the encryption password and the text message that you want to hide. Hit the Encode button and then you can download the output image with the encoded message as a PNG image.
To reveal the encoded message from the output image, access the Decode hidden message section of this tool. Drop the encoded image on the required box or use the Browse button. Enter the same password that you used for encoding. Press the Decode button and the revealed text will appear in the Decrypted text message box.
That’s all! Hope these tools are helpful.
If you need to hide a picture inside another image, then you can use a free steganography tool called JHide. We have covered the steps for using this tool in this post above. And, if you want, you can also try similar tools added in this post that let you hide a text message inside an image.
There is no direct answer about which tool is mostly used for steganography. But yes, if you are looking for some steganography tools that can be used in Windows 11/10 system for hiding a text message or a text file, then you can try QuickStego, JHide, Steganography Online Codec, and other similar tools. All these tools are absolutely free to use. You can check the details of these tools above.
Updated on August 11, 2023 Tags: Freeware
Laxman has done Bachelor's in Computer Science, followed by an MBA. Writing about Windows OS and the free software and services that are available for the Windows operating system is what excites him.
