Redact PDF
Draw boxes over anything you want gone. On download each page is flattened, so the content under a box is permanently removed, not just hidden. Runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
About Redact
Redact permanently removes the parts of a PDF you black out. The covered regions are flattened into the page image when the file is exported, so the hidden text is not merely concealed — it is absent from the document you download and cannot be selected, copied or recovered.
This distinction matters more than almost anything else in PDF handling, because getting it wrong has ended careers. Drawing a black rectangle in an annotation tool places a shape on top of the text. The words underneath remain in the file exactly as before, and anyone can retrieve them by selecting the area and copying, or by running a text extractor over the document. Governments, law firms and newspapers have all published supposedly redacted files that were trivially readable this way.
Real redaction is needed whenever a document leaves the group it was written for. Disclosing evidence with third-party names removed, publishing a contract with commercial rates withheld, sharing medical records under a data request, or posting a document publicly that contains addresses and phone numbers. In each case the requirement is not that the reader cannot see the text, but that the text is not there at all.
How to Redact
- Open the PDF containing content you need to remove.
- Draw a redaction box over each piece of sensitive text or imagery.
- Work through every page — the same name often appears in more than one place.
- Export and download the redacted document.
- Open the downloaded file and try to select the text behind a redaction to confirm nothing is retrievable.
Tips & common problems
Always verify the exported file
Open the download, try to select a redacted area, and paste into a text editor. This ten-second check is the only way to be certain, and it should become a habit.
Search before you redact
Open the original and search for the name, number or term you are removing. It is easy to catch the obvious instance on page 2 and miss the one in a footnote on page 40.
Remember the metadata
Author names, titles and comments live in the document's properties, not on the page, so redaction boxes do not touch them. Check the file's properties separately.
Redacting the whole page? Delete it instead
If everything on a page is sensitive, Remove Pages is cleaner and leaves nothing behind at all.
Frequently asked questions
How do I redact a PDF for free?
Draw boxes over the sensitive content and download the result. No signup, no watermark, and the redaction is applied permanently.
Is the content really removed?
Yes. The redacted regions are flattened during export, so the underlying text is not part of the file you download. It cannot be selected, copied or extracted.
How is this different from drawing a black box in a PDF editor?
An editor's black rectangle is a shape sitting on top of intact text — anyone can select and copy the words underneath. Redaction removes the content rather than covering it, which is why this tool exists separately from the editor.
Can I redact an image or a photograph?
Yes. Draw the box over any part of the page, image or text alike, and that region is removed from the exported document.
Does redaction remove hidden metadata too?
No. It handles page content. Author names and other document properties are stored separately, so review them as a distinct step before publishing anything sensitive.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Redaction runs entirely in your browser, which matters here more than for most tools — the sensitive version never leaves your device.