True or false: Steganography is a type of encryption.

Question

Accepted Answer

False — steganography hides the existence of a message, while encryption hides its content. They are fundamentally different techniques.

Technique
Hides...
Example

Encryption
The content of the message
AES-encrypted file (obviously encrypted, but unreadable)

Steganography
The existence of the message
A photo that secretly contains hidden data (looks like a normal photo)

Steganography uses no key in the classical sense — it relies on concealment rather than mathematical transformation. However, the two techniques complement each other: you can first encrypt a message, then hide the ciphertext steganographically for maximum security.

Technique	Hides...	Example
Encryption	The content of the message	AES-encrypted file (obviously encrypted, but unreadable)
Steganography	The existence of the message	A photo that secretly contains hidden data (looks like a normal photo)