censor bars

{{short description|Basic form of censorship}}

Censor bars, also known as black bars, are a basic form of text, photography, and video censorship in which "sensitive" information or images are occluded by black, gray, or white rectangular boxes. These bars have been used to censor various parts of images.[https://books.google.com/books?id=IAX9ugMME40C&dq=censor+bars&pg=PT97 The Purple Decades: A Reader, Tom Wolfe, p. 78]Context Providers: Conditions of Meaning in Media Arts, Margot Lovejoy & Christiane Paul & Victoria Vesna [https://books.google.com/books?id=Bmg_ZIseeUMC&dq=censor+bars&pg=PA185] Since the creation of digital editing software which can apply less obtrusive effects such as pixelization and blurring, censor bars are typically used for satire,Banned in the media: a reference guide to censorship in the press, motion pictures, broadcasting, and the internet, Herbert N. Foerstel, p. 208 [https://books.google.com/books?id=-cXJ437w6B0C&q=censor+bar&pg=PA208]Click: The Forces Behind How We Fully Engage with People, Work, and Everything We Do, Ori Brafman & Rom Brafman, p.108 [https://books.google.com/books?id=3jL5yrD8GHwC&dq=censor+bars&pg=PA108] although they remain in contemporary use to address privacy concerns. Censor bars are also used in art forms such as blackout poetry.

Censor bars may also have the words "censored", "redacted", "private information", "sensitive information", etc. to indicate their presence.

Sometimes, censor bars are replaced by images instead of just bars.