Newspaper codes were developed in the Victorian era when newspapers could be sent without charge. Poorer classes took advantage of this ability and poked small holes just above letters in the newspaper so that when all the letters with dots were written together a message would form. This practice was time consuming but it also allowed people to communicate freely.

Newspaper codes became popular again during WWII and the Cold War. In the 20th century, however, the dots over letters was replaced by secret ink markings that were less obvious. Unfortunately for spies, newspapers were sent as third class mail which would take quite awhile to reach its destination. Eventually, the American censors grew tired of checking every newspaper clipping and so they were banned.

Perhaps the most successful steganography during the Cold War were 'microdots'. Microdots were small circular dots about the size of a period at the end of this sentence. The dots were actually a form of very detailed microfilm that held several pages of text or pictures. Created with special cameras and processing equipment and then stuck on with special glues onto the periods, the microdots were undetectable unless the censor was looking for them. A small difference in glare from the dots and the paper only noticeable from certain angles would sometimes compromise this system. However, the advantages of this system - primarily that it could carry so much information - made it very popular.