How to screenshot on a Mac

Shift-Command-3 takes the whole screen. Shift-Command-4 takes a region. That is the screenshot on a Mac. The leak happens in the next thirty seconds, when you attach the Desktop PNG without covering a name or a number.

This page is the capture shortcut people search for, then the cover step most how-tos skip. Official steps come from Apple’s screenshot guide. Covering pixels is BlurThis, in this browser, with nothing uploaded.

How to screenshot on a Mac (shortcuts)

These shortcuts work on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini running a current macOS. Hold the keys together, then release.

• Entire screen: Shift-Command-3. A PNG lands on the Desktop by default.
• Selected area: Shift-Command-4, then drag the crosshair. Release to capture.
• One window: Shift-Command-4, then Space, then click the window. Hold Option while you click to skip the window shadow.
• Screenshot toolbar: Shift-Command-5. Timer, pointer, save location, and screen recording live here.
• Copy instead of saving a file: add Control. Example: Control-Shift-Command-3 copies the full screen to the clipboard.

A thumbnail appears in the corner. Click it to Markup. Drag it into a folder. Ignore it and the file still saves. If you cannot find it, read where screenshots go.

Screenshot on a MacBook is the same keys

There is no separate MacBook shortcut. Touch Bar models can use Shift-Command-6 for the Touch Bar itself. External keyboards still use Command, not the Windows key. If Command-Shift-3 does nothing, check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots.

Markup is capture cleanup, not redaction

The thumbnail editor is Preview Markup. A highlighter looks like a blackout and is often a tint. Brightness and contrast bring digits back. For numbers, passwords, and card lines, use a filled rectangle at full opacity, or skip Markup and paint pixels in a tool that exports a new PNG. The longer Preview walkthrough is how to blur a screenshot on Mac. The brightness failure is documented in Markup brightness reveal.

Cover private details before you share

After you capture, look at the chrome, not only the joke in the middle. Chat titles, a phone number in a header, an email in the clear, last four of a card, a URL with a token, a notification that slid in. Crop if the secret is at the edge. Bar it if the layout must stay.

Open BlurThis. The file never leaves this device. Choose Black bar for digits and keys. Blur is for a face or a messy background, not a six-digit code. Download the PNG. Send that file, not the Desktop original named Screen Shot plus a timestamp.

FAQ: Where does the screenshot save?

Desktop, as a PNG, unless you changed Options in Shift-Command-5. You can point it at Downloads or iCloud. Clipboard-only captures never write a file until you paste.

FAQ: How do I screenshot part of the screen?

Shift-Command-4, drag, release. Esc cancels. Space after Shift-Command-4 switches to window mode.

FAQ: Can I paste straight into BlurThis?

On a computer, yes. Capture with Control held so it copies, focus this tab, paste. Or drop the Desktop PNG onto the box on the home page.