Redact a PDF withouthanding it to anyone
A document sensitive enough to redact is too sensitive to upload. This tool blacks out text on your own machine and removes it for good: the boxed words can't be copied or extracted back out of the download.
Drop PDF here
or click to browse · max 50MB
A black rectangle on top is not redaction
Plenty of tools let you draw a black box over text and call it done. The text is still there, underneath, in the file's data. Anyone can select it, copy it, or run an extraction and read every word. Court filings have leaked names this way. So have government reports.
We do it differently. Every page you draw on is rebuilt as a flat image with the boxed content erased before the black goes on. The hidden words never make it into the download in any form.
Redact legal documents before filing or sharing
Pleadings, exhibits, discovery documents, and settlement agreements routinely need names, addresses, minors' details, and case identifiers taken out before they move on. Courts expect true removal, not a cosmetic box. Black out each item, apply, and file the rebuilt copy. Keep your original as the unredacted record.
Strip patient details from medical PDFs
Referral letters, lab results, and insurance correspondence carry names, dates of birth, and policy numbers that the next reader often has no need to see. Because the blackout happens on your own computer, the record is never in a stranger's hands during the process. Box the identifiers, download, and share the clean copy.
Black out account numbers before you send a statement
Landlords, lenders, accountants, and visa officers ask for bank statements all the time. They need to see the transactions, not your full account number. Draw a box over the account digits and anything else that is nobody's business, apply, and send the statement on. The numbers are gone from the file, not hiding under the ink.
Drop your PDF
Drag and drop a PDF or click to browse. It loads in your browser.
Draw black boxes
Drag a box over anything you want gone. Add as many as you like, across any pages.
Apply & download
Each boxed page is rebuilt with the hidden text removed for good, and the redacted PDF downloads right away.
Redaction, answered
How do I redact a PDF online?+
Drop your PDF, drag a black box over anything you want hidden, then click Apply & Download. Every page you drew on is rebuilt so the boxed text is gone, and the new PDF downloads right away.
Is the redacted text really removed, or just covered?+
Really removed. Many tools draw a black rectangle on top, which leaves the original text in the file where it can be copied or extracted. We rebuild each redacted page as a flat image with the boxed content erased, so there is no hidden text left to recover.
Can someone copy the text back out from under the box?+
There is nothing under the box to copy. A redacted page has no text layer at all: it is a flattened image with solid black over the redacted areas. Copy, search, and text extraction all come back empty for the hidden content.
Does the redacted text survive in the file's metadata?+
The download is a brand-new file, built from scratch. Untouched pages are copied across as they were, boxed pages become flat images, and the original document's info fields (author, title, the app that created it) are not carried over. The boxed words exist nowhere in the new file.
Can I undo a redaction?+
Before you apply, yes: click any box to delete it, or clear them all and start over. After you download, the removal in that file is permanent by design. Your original PDF is still sitting untouched on your device, so you can always redo the job from it.
What happens to pages I didn't redact?+
They stay exactly as they were, with their text still selectable and searchable. Only the pages you drew a box on are rebuilt, so the rest of your document is untouched.
Does my file get uploaded anywhere?+
No. The whole redaction runs in your browser, and your PDF bytes stay on your device from start to finish. Nothing is sent to a server to do the work.
Redact your PDF now
Box the sensitive parts, apply, download. The words come out of the file for good.
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