Redact PDF
Black out names, numbers and anything private in a PDF for good, in your browser
Drop a PDF here
Or choose one; it's redacted in your browser and never uploaded
A page with a box becomes an image of itself, so its text can no longer be selected or searched; the other pages are kept as they are. The saved PDF is a new one: bookmarks, attachments and the document's hidden data aren't carried over.
How to redact a PDF
- Drop your PDF on the page or choose it.
- Type a name, an e-mail or a number and select Box all to cover it everywhere, or drag on a page to draw a box; take a box off with its cross.
- Check every page with boxes, choose whether to keep the document's title and author, and save the redacted PDF.
Questions
Is the text under the black boxes really removed?
Yes. Every page with a box is turned into an image with the boxes painted on, and that image replaces the page: the text, images and form fields that were under the boxes aren't in the file any more, so they can't be copied or uncovered.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. It's redacted by your browser, on your device, and never sent anywhere: the safest way to handle a document you need to redact.
Why can't I select the text of a redacted page?
Because it's an image now; that's what makes the redaction safe. Pages without boxes keep their text.
Does the search find everything?
It finds the text on each line of the pages; check the result, as a word split across lines, or the text of a scanned page, isn't found and needs a box drawn by hand.
What else is removed?
The saved PDF is a new file: bookmarks, attachments, scripts and hidden data aren't carried over, and the title and author are removed unless you keep them.