View source for Help:Options to hide an image

{{Short description|Wikipedia help page}}
{{Wikipedia how to|HELP:NOSEE|HELP:NOIMAGE}}
{{Update|obsolete browser versions}}
Some people do not wish to see some images on Wikipedia for various reasons – images may not be [[NSFW|suitable for a work environment]]; they may wish to [[Wikipedia:Advice for parents|prevent their children from seeing such images]]; their religion may forbid it; and so on.

Wikipedia is [[WP:CENSOR|not censored]], and the community will in general not [[WP:Deletion|remove content]] on grounds of being objectionable to some people. Wikipedia will also [[Wikipedia:No disclaimers in articles|not use specific disclaimers]] within articles warning readers of such content. All articles fall under the site-wide '''[[Wikipedia:Content disclaimer|Content disclaimer]]'''.
However, readers who do not wish to be exposed to certain content have a number of options to selectively prevent Wikipedia content from being displayed on their screen.

This page is more suitable for you if:
# you still want to visit Wikipedia (rather than creating a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] or simply staying away) and,
# you find an image offensive but, apart from your perception of its offensiveness, have nothing more to add, within the premises of Wikipedia policies, to the discussions pertaining to replacement or [[Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion|removal]] of images by building [[WP:CONSENSUS|consensus]].

Wikipedia readers can influence how Wikipedia content is displayed on their screens in two ways:
#By creating an account and reading Wikipedia while logged in. Logged-in users can use personal [[Help:Cascading Style Sheets|Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)]] to display images selectively (explained below).
#By filtering content locally, either by configuring their [[web browser]] (including the possibility to display no images at all), or by setting up a [[proxy server|proxy]] (such as [[Privoxy]]) (explained below).

==Wikipedia user preferences==
{{see|Help:Cascading Style Sheets}}

To create an account, visit <span class="plainlinks">[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Help:Options_to_hide_an_image this page]</span>.

People with an account on the Wikipedia website are able to use features of the wiki software to disable specific images or sets of images from being displayed:

===Hide all images until they are clicked on===
[[File:Battenburg-white-blue.svg|thumb|All images will be replaced by this [[Battenburg markings|Battenburg pattern]] until you click on them in order to view the image]]
Once you have created an account, you can hide all images and view them by clicking on the placeholder. To hide images in this fashion, you'll first need to install a user script (see [[User:Anomie/hide-images]]). To install the required user script, simply follow the directions below:

{{ctop|title=Instructions for installation}}
First, copy the following text below to your [[Special:MyPage/common.js|common.js]] page:

<syntaxhighlight lang="js" inline>importScript('User:Anomie/hide-images.js');</syntaxhighlight>

Then, copy the following text below to your [[Special:MyPage/common.css|common.css]] page:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>@import url('//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?action=raw&title=User:Anomie/hide-images.css&ctype=text/css');</syntaxhighlight>
{{cbot}}

To reveal and display an individual image on a Wikipedia page, simply click on the checkerboard pattern. You can simply reload the page in order to re-hide the images. To turn this entire feature off, simply undo the changes you made when you followed the instructions above.

===Disable images on specific pages===
Once you've [[WP:CREATE|created an account]], you can disable the images on a specific page by changing your personal settings at your [[Special:MyPage/common.css|common.css]] page. This allows you to avoid viewing images that may offend you, but without affecting images from being displayed as normal on other unrelated pages. To do this, follow the instructions below:

{{ctop|title=Instructions for installation}}
To install this script, click on this link here: [[Special:MyPage/common.css]]. Create the page if it doesn't exist, and with the following text below added to it:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>.page-(page name) img {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>

Where you'll replace ''(page name)'' with the actual name of the page you wish to apply the restriction to. For example: To disable images from automatically displaying on the [[Muhammad]] article, your script will look like this:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>.page-Muhammad img {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>


If the page name includes spaces or punctuation marks, use underscores instead. An example is below:

{{ctop|title=<div style="color:red; text-align:center;">'''Incorrect'''</div>}}
<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>.page-Muhammad (name) img {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>
{{cbot}}
{{ctop|title=<div style="color:green; text-align:center;">'''Correct'''</div>}}
<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>.page-Muhammad_name img {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>
{{cbot}}
{{cbot}}

===Disable specific images===
You can also disable specific images by individual filename. To enable this option, follow the instructions listed below:

{{ctop|title=Instructions for installation}}
To install this script, click on this link here: [[Special:MyPage/common.css]]. Create the page if it doesn't exist, and with the following text below added to it:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>body a[href="/wiki/File:(file name)"] {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>

Where you'll replace ''(file name)'' with the actual name of the image's page (including the file extension). For example: To disable [[:File:Silver-service-star.png|this image]] from automatically being displayed anywhere on Wikipedia, your script will look like this:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>body a[href="/wiki/File:Silver-service-star.png"] {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>

Remember to replace spaces and punctuation marks within file names with underscores.

If you wish to disable an image on another project from displaying automatically (for example, the Wikimedia Commons), your script will look like this:

<syntaxhighlight lang="css" inline>body a[href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(file name)"] {display: none;}</syntaxhighlight>

Where, again, you'll replace ''(file name)'' with the actual name of the image's page (including the file extension).
{{cbot}}

Remember: Keep in mind that the images included in any given article, and their filenames, can change at any time, and generally ''may'' change over time as the relevant article or page develops.

[[Talk:Muhammad/images/example css|Here]] is an example file addressing content preferences with regard to [[depictions of Muhammad]] aimed at moderately strict Sunni Muslims. It's an example. Individual content preferences may vary.

===Disable images in search widget for certain skins===
Search result images can be turned off by altering the respective common.css for the skin being used and adding a rule to not display background images for spans of the class <code>.wvui-typeahead-suggestion__thumbnail</code>. For example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="css">span.wvui-typeahead-suggestion__thumbnail {
  background-image:none !important;    
}</syntaxhighlight>

==Configure your browser==

===How to block images site-wide===

====[[Mozilla Firefox]]====
{{Hatnote|This option has been removed with Firefox 72.0 due to "low usage and poor user experience", see the release notes [https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/72.0/releasenotes/ here].}}[[Image:Example.jpg|frameless|right|alt=Example image]]
Recent versions (e.g. 39.0) 
#Right-click on the example image to the right.
#Click on ''View image info'' from the pop up menu. If this option does not show, click on the icon to left of the address in the address bar (a globe, triangle or padlock icon) and click ''more information''.
#Under the ''media tab'', The image should be already selected. If not, select your image from the list underneath the word ''address''.
#Check the box that says ''Block images from....''
#Close the window

[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/page-info-window-view-technical-details-about-page More Information]

====[[Google Chrome]]====
#Click on the padlock next to the site's URL address. Navigate to ''Site settings''.
#Scroll down to ''Images''.
#Change setting to ''Block''.

====User scripts====
With a [[userscript manager]] such as [[Tampermonkey]], you can install [https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/465184-hide-images-2 "hide-images-2"], which hides images in Wikipedia until they are clicked on.

===How to set up your browser not to see images at all===

====Google Chrome====
#Click top right icon on Google Chrome browser, then choose "Settings".
#Click "Show advanced settings" below, scroll to Privacy column, then click on "Content settings".
#On Images, either "Show all images" and click "Manage exceptions", then key in Wikipedia, or simply choose "Do not show any images".
* Note: Most of the android version of Google Chrome doesn't support any option for hiding images.

====[[Mozilla Firefox]] ====

=====With add-on=====
There are add-ons which provide image hiding functionality
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/image-block/

====All [[Mozilla]]-based browsers====
Enter <kbd>about:config</kbd> in the location box, and change <var>permissions.default.image</var> to <kbd>2</kbd> to disable image downloads.  To restore the default behavior, change it back to&nbsp;<kbd>1</kbd>.

==== [[UC Browser]] ====
# Click on menu button just below the browser close button.
# Go to settings
# Click on other, the last item on the settings list.
# Under "privacy" item, click on content settings.
# Scroll down to images, click on do not show any images.
* Note: UC Browser and UC Browser mini serves better than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browser for browsing editing in Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects with hiding images, specially in android versions.

==== [[Opera (web browser)|Opera]] ====

{{menu sequence|Settings|Websites|Images|&nbsp;}} select "Do not show any images."

* Note: Opera browser may not hide all the images properly.

====[[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] 3====
#On Mac OSX, select the "Safari" menu.
#Click "Preferences".
#Click on the "Appearance" button.
#Uncheck "Display images when the page opens."

====[[lynx (web browser)|Lynx]]====
The use of a text-based web browser such as Lynx will allow you to view Wikipedia without seeing any images at all, unless explicitly downloaded and shown in a separate application.

[[Internet Explorer|'''Internet Explorer''']] 7 and onward
#Click the "Tools" button.
#Select "Internet Options".
#Click the "Advanced" tab.
#Scroll down to "Multimedia" and uncheck "Show pictures".

===Install the Adblock Extension (Firefox)===
{{see|Adblock}}

Open Tools and click the "Add-Ons" button in the "Main" Tab.
Select and install "Adblock Plus". After restarting your browser, you have a menu labelled with an "ABP" icon in the top right of your browser window. From this menu, you can define precisely what content should be suppressed by your browser. 

Do not use a predefined filterset, which may be configured to allow (whitelist) all Wikimedia content. Instead, use the "open blockable items" option to review whitelisted content on the current page, and disable filter rules as desired.

To block a specific image, right-click on it and select "Adblock image" from the context menu.
For example, right-clicking on the top image at [[Penis]], you get the option to block "<nowiki>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/Labelled_bw_flaccid_penis.jpg/*</nowiki>". This will block all scaled-down versions of [[:File:Labelled_bw_flaccid_penis.jpg]]. 
If you want to filter all images containing "penis" as part of the filename, use the rule "<nowiki>http://upload.wikimedia.org/*penis*</nowiki>".

Once you have defined a filterset, you can distribute it to interested parties sharing your content preferences.

==Use a proxy filter==
You can selectively block content by using a [[web filter]] program. Freely available examples include [[Privoxy]] and [[DansGuardian]]. Once you have installed such a program, you can exert fine-grained control over what content is received by your web browser. This method can also be used for system administrators for schools and workplaces to restrict the access of potentially inappropriate images to students/employees. If you are using a URL based filter which also blocks images from a host, blocking Wikimedia will also block all images. Please note by doing this, some system icons on Wikipedia may no longer be visible as they are hosted on Wikimedia. Also any images from Wikimedia on any website will be blocked too.

==See also==
{{Help desk}}
{{Portal|Help}}
*[[Help:Preferences]]
*[[MediaWiki:Bad image list]]
*[[Wikipedia:Profanity]]
*[[Wikipedia:Tools]]
*[[Meta:Image filter referendum]]
*[[mw:Personal image filter]]
*[[mw:Extension:ImageFilter]] (now works on MW1.38)
{{Help navigation}}
{{Wikipedia technical help|collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Image display options}}

[[Category:Reader help]]
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to]]
[[Category:Wikipedia image help|Options]]