SHA-256 password encryption
Your password is hashed with SHA-256 to derive a unique pixel order. Wrong passwords produce a differently scrambled image — no error hints that reveal the correct passphrase.
Free · Offline · Windows
Encrypt Images with a Password
Free offline image encryption for Windows and Android. Hider — Image Scrambler scrambles every pixel in PNG, JPEG and WEBP photos using your password — nothing uploaded, no account, no internet required.
Password-protect photos on your PC — no upload needed
Looking for a way to encrypt images without uploading them to a cloud service? Hider — Image Scrambler is a free Windows application that performs password-based image encryption entirely offline. Your photos never leave your computer — no server, no internet connection, no account required.
Whether you want to password protect photos on a shared PC, encrypt screenshots before sharing, or secure PNG, JPEG and WEBP files on a USB drive, Hider — Image Scrambler performs local image encryption through pixel scrambling. The file remains a valid image — it just looks like a scrambled mess until decrypted. No cloud, no third party, no risk of interception — ideal for private image sharing.
Why choose Hider — Image Scrambler for image encryption?
100% offline — nothing uploaded
No internet connection required at any step. Hider — Image Scrambler encrypts images entirely on your PC — ideal for sensitive workflows where cloud tools are not an option.
Batch encrypt PNG, JPEG & WEBP
Drag and drop multiple PNG, JPEG or WEBP files to encrypt or decrypt them in one operation. Optional overwrite mode keeps encrypted filenames discreet.
Before & after — drag to compare
Drag the handle left or right to see what pixel encryption does to an image.
How to encrypt images in 3 steps
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Download & open your image
Install Hider — Image Scrambler free from the Microsoft Store. Open a PNG, JPEG or WEBP file — or drag several files for batch encryption.
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Enter a password and click Encrypt
Type a strong password and click Encrypt. Pixel encryption scrambles the image; the file stays valid but looks like noise.
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Decrypt to restore the original
To restore, open the encrypted file, enter the same password, and click Decrypt. For a double layer, encrypt twice with two different passwords and decrypt in reverse order.
Frequently asked questions
How do I encrypt images with a password on Windows?
Install Hider — Image Scrambler from the Microsoft Store, open a PNG, JPEG or WEBP file, type your password, and click Encrypt. Hider — Image Scrambler hashes your password with SHA-256 to generate a deterministic seed, then uses that seed to shuffle all pixel positions in the image. The file stays structurally valid — same dimensions, same format — but every pixel is in a different position, making the image unrecognizable. Enter the same password and click Decrypt to restore the original exactly.
How exactly does encryption work in Hider — Image Scrambler under the hood?
Hider — Image Scrambler uses password-based pixel permutation rather than traditional byte-level ciphers. Your password is passed through SHA-256 to produce a 256-bit hash, which seeds a deterministic shuffle algorithm. That shuffle defines a unique reordering of every pixel coordinate in the image. On decrypt, the same password reproduces the same shuffle — and its reverse is applied to restore pixel positions. No encryption metadata, keys, or headers are written into the file; the only "key" is your password.
Is Hider — Image Scrambler truly offline — does it ever connect to the internet?
No. Hider — Image Scrambler never makes a network request. All SHA-256 hashing, pixel shuffling, and file writing happen entirely in memory on your PC. Your password is never transmitted anywhere. There are no telemetry calls, no licence checks, and no update pings — the app works even with no internet connection at all.
What image formats does Hider — Image Scrambler support?
Hider — Image Scrambler supports PNG, JPEG (JPG) and WEBP files. PNG and WEBP are saved losslessly to preserve every pixel for perfect decryption; JPEG input is saved as PNG for the same reason. Batch mode lets you encrypt or decrypt many files at once with drag and drop.
Can I encrypt multiple photos at once?
Yes. Drag or select several PNG, JPEG or WEBP files, enter a password, and encrypt them all in one step. For the strongest protection, encrypt each sensitive image individually with a different password — that way, compromising one password does not expose the others.
What happens if I type the wrong password?
No error message is shown. Because the algorithm is a deterministic shuffle, a wrong password simply produces a different valid shuffle — the output is a different scrambled image, not a warning. This is a deliberate security property: an attacker who tries many passwords gets no feedback about whether any attempt was close to correct.
Start encrypting your images today
Free to download. No account. No upload. Works fully offline on Windows.
About Hider — Image Scrambler
Hider — Image Scrambler is a non-profit project by Hidroteknik, an engineering firm. Developed by project lead Alper Alyaz, it is a free Windows application that offers a fast and simple way to protect your photos with a password. The app works entirely offline — no account required, no data collected, and your images are never sent to any server.
