Permanently redact sensitive information in a PDF
Draw boxes over what must not be seen, or search for a word and box every match. Affected pages are flattened into images, so the hidden content cannot be copied out. No upload.
- Files never leave your browser.
- No account needed
- No watermark added
- Works on any device
How it works
Step 1: Choose the PDF that contains the sensitive information.
Step 2: Draw boxes over the areas to hide, or search for words and phrases to add boxes automatically.
Step 3: Review every box on the page previews and remove or adjust any that are wrong.
Step 4: Select Redact PDF, download the result and check it before sharing.
Redaction versus a black rectangle
Many people cover a name with a black rectangle in an editor and share the file, believing it is hidden. It is not: the rectangle is one object lying on top of the page, and the text underneath is still stored in the file. Anyone can select it, copy it, search for it or delete the rectangle. Several well-known leaks have happened exactly this way.
This tool redacts in the proper sense. You draw boxes over areas on the page previews, or type a word or phrase and let the tool add a box for every match it finds. When you save, each page that has at least one box is rendered as an image at 150 DPI with the boxes burned into the pixels. The original text and images on that page are no longer in the file, so they cannot be recovered.
Pages you did not touch are left exactly as they were, with their text still selectable. Only the redacted pages become images.
Why use this tool
The content is actually removed
Because redacted pages are re-rendered as images with the boxes burned in, the covered words and pictures no longer exist in the file.
Search finds every match
Type a surname, an account number or a phone number once and get a box on every page where it appears, instead of hunting page by page.
Only affected pages change
Pages without boxes are copied unchanged and keep their selectable text and small file size.
Your document stays on your device
Redaction is done in your browser. The unredacted original is never uploaded, which matters most for exactly this kind of file.
Common uses
Responding to a records request
Remove third-party names and addresses from a document before releasing the rest under a freedom-of-information or subject-access request.
Sharing bank statements
Hide account numbers and unrelated transactions when a landlord or lender needs to see only income.
Publishing a contract excerpt
Black out prices and counterparty names before a contract appears as an example in a case study.
Sending an ID copy
Cover the document number and photo on an ID scan when the recipient only needs to confirm a name and a date.
Legal disclosure
Remove privileged passages from documents that must be handed to the other side.
Why covering text is not the same as removing it
A PDF is a container of objects. The words on a page are one kind of object, and a filled rectangle is another. Placing the second above the first changes what you see, not what the file holds. That is why a white box from Edit PDF hides text without deleting it, and why the crop tool only changes the visible window.
Redaction has to destroy the underlying content. The reliable way to do that in a browser is to replace the whole page with a picture of it, black boxes included. Once that is done there is no text object left to extract on the page, and no image data beneath the box, only pixels.
The cost is real and worth knowing in advance. A redacted page is a picture, so its text is not selectable and the page loses a little sharpness compared with vector text. Text-heavy pages are usually small as pictures; photographic pages may grow.
A checklist before you share the redacted file
Redaction removes what you boxed, and only that. Most mistakes after a redaction come from information that lives elsewhere in the file or that was simply missed. Run through these checks on the saved copy rather than the one on the screen.
- Open the saved file, try to select text under a box and search for a redacted word. Nothing should be found on those pages.
- Look for the same information in places you did not box: headers, footers, page numbers that reveal a case, captions and handwritten notes.
- Clear document properties with Remove PDF Metadata, or run Sanitize PDF to also drop attachments and scripts, since author names and titles often carry the very detail you removed.
- Check the file name. A file called salary-review-jane-doe.pdf gives away more than the page did.
- If the recipient should not edit the result, add a password with Protect PDF.
Supported formats
- Input
- One PDF file (.pdf).
- Output
- One PDF file in which the redacted pages are images.
Untouched pages keep their original content and text.
Good to know
- Redacted pages become images at 150 DPI, so their text can no longer be selected or searched and they look slightly softer than the original.
- Word search works on the text layer of the PDF. A scanned page has no text to search, so draw boxes by hand there.
- Pages without boxes are not changed, so any sensitive content you did not mark, and hidden details such as metadata, remains.
- Redaction cannot be undone after saving. Keep your original file safe and never overwrite it with the redacted copy.
Your files never leave your browser
This tool runs entirely on your device using your browser. Your files are not uploaded to our servers and are not stored anywhere. Closing the tab discards everything.
Frequently asked questions
Is the hidden text really removed, or just covered?
It is removed. Pages with redaction boxes are re-rendered as images at 150 DPI with the boxes burned in, so the text and images under them no longer exist on those pages.
Why can I not select text on the redacted pages?
Because those pages are now images. This is the trade-off that makes the redaction permanent. Pages you did not redact keep their selectable text.
Can I search for a word and redact all occurrences?
Yes. Enter a word or phrase and the tool adds a box for each match on the text layer. Check the boxes on the previews, and add manual boxes for anything the search could not find, such as text inside a scanned image.
Is my unredacted PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything happens in your browser, so the original with its sensitive content never reaches a server.
Does redaction also clean the document metadata?
No. It changes page content only. To clear the title, author and other properties, use Remove PDF Metadata or Sanitize PDF afterwards.