rSteg

rSteg is a small software application developed specifically for helping you encrypt and hide text messages within images. The final photos present the same functionality as the source ones. You can still open them in your preferred viewer.
It can be deployed on all Windows versions out there. In order to be able to gain access to the tool’s features, you need to deploy the Java working environment on the target PC.

Comes in a portable edition

This is a portable program. You can open the utility by simply running the executable file because there’s no setup included in the process. In addition, you can get rid of it by deleting the files that you have downloaded from the Internet.
It does not store entries in your Windows registry and leave other setup files in your system. It actually saves the configuration files to the target computer. You may store it on USB flash drives and run it without administrative privileges.

Simple looks

rSteg sports a minimalist design that has to offer only a few configuration settings. A help manual cannot be accessed but you can get an ideal about how the application works in a short amount of time, thanks to its intuitive GUI.
Images can be imported in the working environment using only the built-in browse button (the drag-and-drop support is not implemented). The tool does not offer support for a photo preview mode in the main panel so you need to open files separately with a third-party app.

Encryption/decryption settings

rSteg gives you the possibility to specify a custom text message that you want to encrypt and hide it in a custom picture. You may manually type in the text message directly in the primary window or paste it from the clipboard.
What’s more, you are allowed to set up a password and select an image from your computer. The new photo, which contains the private information, can be exported to PNG file format to a preferred location on the disk.
The decryption process can be carried out successfully by specifying the target picture and entering the correct password. The hidden text is displayed in a dedicated pane.
Tests have shown that rSteg carries out encryption/decryption tasks very quickly. Plus, the photos which embed the sensitive information won’t raise any suspicions because they are lightweight.

Bottom line

In conclusion, rSteg has to offer basic and straightforward parameters for helping you encode private text messages within pictures, and is suitable especially for less experienced users.