Redact a PDF — black out text for good
Cover names, emails, phone numbers and IDs. The text underneath is really removed — not just hidden.
Nothing is uploaded. Your PDF is opened and rebuilt entirely on your own device.
Drop a PDF here, or choose a file
One file at a time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I redact a PDF?
Open your PDF, then either drag on a page to draw black boxes over the text you want to hide, or use "Find and redact automatically" to add boxes for words, emails and numbers. Review every box, then click "Redact & build PDF" and download the result.
Is the text really removed, or just covered?
It is really removed. Every page that has a redaction is redrawn as a flat image with the black boxes burned in, so there is no hidden text underneath to select, copy or search. Pages without redactions are left exactly as they were.
Why do redacted pages turn into images?
That is the only way to be sure. Drawing a black rectangle over live text leaves the text in the file, which anyone can copy out. Flattening the page removes it for good. The trade-off is that those pages can no longer be searched or selected.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is opened, redacted and rebuilt entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.
What does automatic redaction find?
Any words or phrases you type (one per line), email addresses, and long numbers such as phone, ID and account numbers. It works on PDFs that contain real text. For scanned PDFs, draw boxes by hand, or run the file through OCR PDF first.
Does it work with Arabic?
Yes. You can search for Arabic words and the matching text is boxed. Always check the boxes before you download, because the position of text inside a line is estimated.
Does the redacted file still contain my name or other metadata?
The title, author and other document properties are cleared in the new file. If you also want to inspect hidden data in other files, use the Metadata Cleaner.