Masks

Mask refers to a feature used to control the visibility of certain parts of objects in a design. Imagine you have a thumbnail image for a video and you want to display only a certain section of this image within a specific shape (like a circle for a profile picture or a star for a special feature icon), you can apply a mask. By applying a mask, you can hide the parts of the picture that fall outside the chosen shape. This is much like looking through a cut-out window at a scene when you only see what's within that window.

Masks are a fundamental tool in design software, functioning similarly across various platforms, not just in Figma. They're essential for creating complex images and layouts, allowing designers to reveal or hide parts of their designs in a non-destructive way, meaning the original images aren't permanently altered.