Redact PDF
Redact PDF is a free browser tool for true redaction. Draw black boxes over sensitive areas on the page preview; on export every covered page is rasterized and rebuilt, so the underlying text is actually removed, not just hidden. Pages without boxes stay untouched.
Drop PDF files here or click to browse
Files stay in your burrow: everything is processed on your device, never uploaded.
How to use this tool
- 1Drop a PDF into the tool and wait for the page preview.
- 2Drag black boxes over the text or areas you want to remove. Add several boxes, remove any with a click, and move between pages.
- 3Click Apply. Every page with boxes is rendered to an image with the boxes burned in; pages without boxes are copied unchanged.
- 4Check the result and download. The hidden content cannot be copied or recovered from the output.
FAQ
What happens to the pages I redacted?
They become image pages. The tool renders the original page, paints your black boxes onto it, and rebuilds the page from that image, so the original text objects are gone. Pages without redaction boxes are copied byte-for-byte and keep selectable text.
Why not just draw a black rectangle on top of the text?
Because that is fake redaction. A black rectangle drawn over text still leaves the text in the file, where it can be copied out or revealed by removing the rectangle. Real removal requires rebuilding the page, which is exactly what this tool does.
How far does the redaction go?
The covered content is removed from the output file, and your original file is never modified. Check the result before sharing: if a box misses part of a word, that part remains visible. Passwords, metadata and attachments are not touched; use the metadata editor to clean those.