Elisabeth L. 
Decay Mode adds a progressive element to how DeniedPixels handles detected content. Instead of applying the same censoring effect every time, the image quality degrades further with each encounter. The first time you see a detected image it gets a light treatment. By the fourth encounter, it’s gone entirely.
The 4 stages
Every detected image moves through the same progression, one step per encounter:
Stage 1 — Slight Blur. A soft blur is applied. Content is barely obscured — shapes, colors, and general composition are still visible. This is the lightest level of censoring in the extension.
Stage 2 — Heavy Blur. The blur intensity increases significantly. You can make out general shapes but detail is gone. It’s recognizable as an image but not much more than that.
Stage 3 — Pixelated. The image breaks into chunky pixel blocks. At this stage the content is effectively unrecognizable — just large squares of color.
Stage 4 — Pure Black. The final stage. The entire image is replaced with solid black. This is permanent for that image — every future encounter shows the same black fill.
How encounters are tracked
DeniedPixels tracks each detected image individually. The decay stage is tied to the image itself, not the website. So if you encounter the same image on three different sites, that counts as three encounters and it’ll be at stage 3 regardless of where you see it next.
The progression only moves forward. There’s no way for an image to go back to an earlier stage once it’s advanced.
How it fits with other features
Decay Mode uses its own fixed progression instead of your selected censoring style. Your detection zones and sensitivity settings still control what gets detected — Decay Mode just changes what happens after detection.
If you’re looking for immediate permanent blocking rather than gradual degradation, Only Once Mode is the alternative — it skips the progression and goes straight to a block style after the first encounter.
