Redact PDF
Black out names, account numbers, addresses or any phrase across a whole PDF — and actually remove them from the file, so they cannot be recovered by copying the text underneath.
- up to 25 MB per file
- Deleted after one hour
How it works
- 01
Upload the PDF
The document with information to remove.
- 02
List the terms
Comma-separated: a name, an account number, a phrase.
- 03
Download
Every match is a black box with nothing behind it.
What Redact PDF does
Drawing a black rectangle over text in a PDF editor hides nothing: the text is still there underneath, still selectable, still found by search, and the rectangle can be deleted by anyone who opens the file. Real redaction removes the content. This tool finds every occurrence of the terms you give it — a name, an account number, a phrase — deletes that text from the page content, and only then draws the black box where it was. The result can be shared without the redacted information travelling with it. It works on the text layer, so a scanned document must go through OCR PDF first for the words to be found; and it is worth checking the output once, because a name spelled two ways needs both spellings listed.
Limitations
- Works on the text layer: a scanned page must go through OCR before its words can be found.
- Document metadata (title, author) is not searched.
When you'd use it
- Removing names before releasing a document under a request
- Blacking out account numbers on a statement you must share
- Stripping salaries from an HR document for a wider audience
Formats and limits
- Accepts
- .pdf — a password-protected PDF needs its password, or Unlock PDF first
- Produces
- Redacted PDF
- Files per run
- One
- Size limit
- 25 MB per file
What happens to your file
Processed over an encrypted connection and deleted after one hour.
Full detail in the Privacy Policy.
Questions
Is the text really gone, or just hidden under a black box?
Gone. The matched text is deleted from the page content before the box is drawn. Selecting or copying over the box returns nothing, and the text is not in the file.
Is matching case-sensitive?
No — 'Smith', 'SMITH' and 'smith' are all found. Turn on whole-word matching if a short term is hitting inside longer words.
Can it redact a scanned PDF?
Only if it has a text layer. Run OCR PDF first, then redact; the black boxes will then cover the matched words in the scan.
Does it remove the text from the document's metadata too?
It removes it from the pages. Title, author and keyword fields are left as they are; check those in your viewer's document properties if they might contain the same information.
Can I redact a whole area rather than specific words?
Not in this tool — it works by matching text. For a region, such as a photograph, the practical route is to crop or replace the page.
What does whole-word matching change?
Without it, redacting 'art' also blacks out the middle of 'department'. With it, only standalone occurrences are matched. Use it for short terms; leave it off for phrases and numbers.
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