diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index a60b1ec08..b0cb0a284 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 - TW-1596 taskwarrior can't compile FreeBSD 9.3 32bit environment (thanks to
           ribbon)
+- The 'obfuscate' setting, if set to '1' will replace all text with 'xxx'.
 
 ------ current release ---------------------------
 
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 54dc175b2..649779e4a 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ New commands in taskwarrior 2.4.4
 
 New configuration options in taskwarrior 2.4.4
 
-  -
+  - The 'obfuscate' setting, if set to '1' will replace all text with 'xxx'.
+    This is useful when sharing data for bug reporting purposes.
 
 Newly deprecated features in taskwarrior 2.4.4
 
diff --git a/doc/man/taskrc.5.in b/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
index 1d065dc63..6396b78a5 100644
--- a/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
+++ b/doc/man/taskrc.5.in
@@ -502,6 +502,12 @@ shows parse trees from every phase of the parse.
 Controls the GnuTLS diagnostic level. For 'sync' debugging. Level 0 means no
 diagnostics. Level 9 is the highest. Level 2 is a good setting for debugging.
 
+.TP
+.B obfuscate=1
+When set to '1', will replace all report text with 'xxx'.
+This is useful for sharing report output in bug reports.
+Default value is '0'.
+
 .TP
 .B alias.rm=delete
 Taskwarrior supports command aliases. This alias provides an alternate name
diff --git a/src/ViewTask.cpp b/src/ViewTask.cpp
index 5fa90353e..f5caf7b9a 100644
--- a/src/ViewTask.cpp
+++ b/src/ViewTask.cpp
@@ -324,8 +324,9 @@ std::string ViewTask::render (std::vector <Task>& data, std::vector <int>& seque
         max_lines = cells[c].size ();
 
       if (obfuscate)
-        for (unsigned int line = 0; line < cells[c].size (); ++line)
-          cells[c][line] = obfuscateText (cells[c][line]);
+        if (_columns[c]->type () == "string")
+          for (unsigned int line = 0; line < cells[c].size (); ++line)
+            cells[c][line] = obfuscateText (cells[c][line]);
     }
 
     // Listing breaks are simply blank lines inserted when a column value
diff --git a/src/ViewText.cpp b/src/ViewText.cpp
index adf03a46f..80b071b5f 100644
--- a/src/ViewText.cpp
+++ b/src/ViewText.cpp
@@ -269,8 +269,9 @@ std::string ViewText::render ()
         max_lines = cells[col].size ();
 
       if (obfuscate)
-        for (unsigned int line = 0; line < cells[col].size (); ++line)
-          cells[col][line] = obfuscateText (cells[col][line]);
+        if (_columns[col]->type () == "string")
+          for (unsigned int line = 0; line < cells[col].size (); ++line)
+            cells[col][line] = obfuscateText (cells[col][line]);
     }
 
     for (unsigned int i = 0; i < max_lines; ++i)
diff --git a/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp b/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
index 8b8039e16..239129a17 100644
--- a/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
+++ b/src/commands/CmdShow.cpp
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ int CmdShow::execute (std::string& output)
     " locking"
     " monthsperline"
     " nag"
+    " obfuscate"
     " print.empty.columns"
     " recurrence"
     " recurrence.confirmation"