Some of the most useful apps on iOS take system features and turn them up to 11. For a few years, the photos app has had basic markup tools but it’s felt underwhelming and lacked pro features. Annotable for iPhone and iPad adds pro-level annotation and markup tools to highlight or hide whatever you want in an image.
What is Annotable?
Annotable is an image markup and annotation app for iOS. While many of the features of Annotable are similar to those offered in the stock markup tools, Annotable offers a dedicated app for marking up your images and some excellent professional tools.
Why it’s great
The best feature of Annotable is its pixelate tool. This is ideal for obscuring personal information in a screenshot or concealing an element of a photo. Unlike the iOS markup tools, which aren’t truly designed to concealing information, the pixelate feature in Annotable will truly keep information hidden.
If pixelation isn’t your preferred method of redacting information, Annotable also offers smart redaction, which will only black out lines of text precisely. This makes it easy to black out sections of a text or email before sharing a screenshot on social media.
Screenshots: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
Aside from redacting or concealing information, Annotable also makes it easy to highlight specific elements or sections of images. Much like the stock markup tools with circles and arrows (and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one is), Annotable offers both basic and complex highlighting tools.
Smart highlighter can be used to highlight specific text in screenshots or images. Much like the smart redact, it detects text and only highlight words. The loupe tools allows you to magnify parts of an image, and spotlight dims the image outside of a designated area.
Who it’s for
If you frequently need to markup or conceal information in screenshots, you need Annotable. If you find yourself worrying about privacy, but also want to share images on social media, it is an invaluable tool.
Bottom line: Annotable is the best markup app.
With basic and professional annotation tools, Annotable is the best markup app for iOS. It takes everything Apple has added to the photos app and turns it up a few notches.
Price: Free (unlock pro features for $9.99)
Download from: App Store
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