How to read the planes
Bit 7 is the most significant: it draws the picture's coarse shape. Bit 0 is the least significant: in a natural photo it is close to random noise, because the lowest bit is below what a sensor measures. Hidden data is written into those low bits, so they are where to look.
- Pure noise everywhere in bit 0 is normal for a photo.
- A patch of structure (a visible shape, stripes, text) in bit 0 or 1 means the low bits carry something that is not noise.
- Noise only in the top part of a plane, smooth below, is the signature of a payload written from the top row until it ran out. The rest of the picture is untouched.
- Flat black or white in the low planes means the picture has little depth there (a cartoon, a screenshot, a picture saved with fewer colors).
How to use it
- Drop the picture, choose a channel (red, green, blue or brightness).
- Look across the eight planes. Click one to enlarge it.
- If a low plane looks wrong, run the Steganography Detector and Extract Hidden Data.
Limits
JPEG and other lossy files always show noise in the low planes, so the view says little about them. A payload that is encrypted or spread over the picture by a key also looks like noise. Learn more in LSB steganography explained. The page sends a copy of each picture to our server like every tool here (see the privacy policy).
Frequently asked questions
What is a bit plane?
All the values of one bit position of one channel, drawn as black and white. Eight planes per channel add up to the picture.
Why is the lowest plane just noise on my photo?
That is normal. A camera cannot measure the last bit accurately, so it is random. Only a pattern in it is a sign.