Fuzzy edge detection based steganography using modified Gaussian distribution S. Dhargupta 1 & A. Chakraborty 1 & S. K. Ghosal 2 & S. Saha 1 & R. Sarkar 1 Received: 6 June 2018 /Revised: 9 November 2018 /Accepted: 26 December 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract This paper proposes a fuzzy edge detection based steganography approach to effectively hide data within images. Instead of applying conventional edge detection algorithms, the method uses a fuzzy edge detection approach in order to estimate more number of pixels where the data can be hidden. At the outset, the cover image is masked and the fuzzy edge detection is performed on the masked image thus retaining edge information. The number of bits to be embedded in a particular pixel is dependent on whether the pixel is an edge pixel, where more bits are embedded. In case the pixel is not an edge pixel and also not a background pixel then the amount of data that is to be embedded depends on the Euclidean distance of the respective pixel from the nearest edge pixel and is determined by the Gaussian function. Experimental results ensure that the scheme offers variable payload with acceptable quality distortion in the stego-image. Keywords Steganography . Edgedetection . Fuzzy approach . Gaussian function . Payload . Cover image 1 Introduction Usage of devices like Smartphones, iPads, digital cameras etc. is increasing exponentially due to human dependency on these devices in daily life for various applications. Interestingly, the invention of digital cameras and the portability offered by mobile phone-based cameras have significantly fuelled the popularity of digital images. This growing trend can be seen even in the rural areas because the affordability of these devices has given a common man the opportunity to capture the world in pictures. Therefore, people now capture and share more Multimedia Tools and Applications https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-018-7123-x * R. Sarkar raamsarkar@gmail.com 1 Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Kolkata, West Bengal 700032, India 2 Department of Computer Science & Technology, Nalhati Government Polytechnic, Nalhati, Birbhum 731243, India