Redact PDF – Black Out Text for Good
Draw boxes or find emails, phone numbers and card numbers, then remove them from the file for real. Free and private.
Processed on your device · no uploadDrop a PDF here or choose a file
PDF · draw boxes or find emails, phone numbers, card numbers · or paste with Ctrl+V
What to do next
How to use Redact PDF
Add your PDF
Drop the file or choose it. The pages open in a viewer right away.
Mark what to remove
Drag on a page to draw a box, or press Find matches to mark emails, phone numbers, card numbers, IDs or any word you type. Untick matches you want to keep.
Redact and save
Press Redact and save PDF. Every page with a box is rebuilt with the area burned in black, so nothing can be copied out from under it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the text really removed, or just covered?
Really removed. Each page that has a box is turned into a flat picture with the black boxes painted in, so the hidden text, its copy and search layer, and anything underneath are gone from the file. Metadata such as title and author is cleared too.
Why does a redacted page stop being searchable?
Because that page becomes an image. This is the safest method, but you cannot select or search text on those pages any more. Pages without a box stay exactly as they were, with their text.
Can it find text in a scanned PDF?
No. Finding matches needs selectable text and there is no OCR here. On a scan, draw the boxes by hand.
Will it find every phone number or ID?
The finders are patterns, so they can miss unusual formats or flag a number that is not private. Check the list and the page before you save, and draw a box for anything missed.
Can I redact a protected PDF?
Not while it needs a password to open. Save an unprotected copy first.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser and the file never leaves your device.