Free & Fast. No server uploads, no installs, no watermarks.
Draw black boxes over sensitive content. Redactions are burned into the page, permanently.
⚠️ Warning: Redactions are permanently burned into the page images and the original text is destroyed. Hidden information is not recoverable from the output. This is secure for most use cases, but not a certified legal/compliant redaction method. For sensitive legal, medical, or compliance documents, use a professional redaction tool.
Drop your PDF here, or tap to select it
Your file never leaves this device
The Redact PDF tool permanently removes sensitive information from a document by letting you draw black boxes over it: account and Social Security numbers, addresses, signatures, client names, salary figures, or anything else that should not travel with the file. Typical uses include preparing statements for a loan application, sharing a contract with a third party, and protecting personal or employee information in business documents.
The security model matters here, because the most common redaction failure in other tools is drawing a black rectangle on top of text that still exists underneath, where anyone can select and copy it out. This tool does not do that. On export, every page carrying a redaction box is converted to an image and the boxes are burned into the pixels, so on those pages the original text, text layer, and content simply do not exist in the output.
Pages without redactions are copied into the output untouched, keeping their original text, quality, and file size, so a long document with one redacted page stays almost entirely searchable and compact. Only the redacted pages become images, which is the deliberate price of making the hidden content genuinely unrecoverable. The output quality setting applies to those pages: Maximum suits print and fine text, Smaller File suits email attachments, and Balanced fits most documents.
Everything runs in your browser on your own device. For this tool above all, that matters: a document that needs redacting is by definition one that should not be uploaded to a stranger's server, and here it never is.
These three tools protect documents in different ways. Redaction destroys specific content on a page while the rest stays visible, which is right when the document must be shared but parts of it must not be. Password Protect leaves the content intact and instead controls who can open the file, which is right when the whole document is sensitive but the recipient is trusted. And if entire pages should not be shared at all, Remove Pages deletes them outright rather than covering them up.
The approaches also combine well: redact the sensitive details first, then run the result through Password Protect before sending it, so the sanitized file is also access-controlled.
This PDF redaction tool is designed for legitimate privacy protection and document sharing purposes. Please use this tool responsibly and in compliance with all applicable laws.
Appropriate uses include:
Important restrictions:
Users are solely responsible for ensuring their use of this tool complies with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations. This tool does not provide legal advice. Consult with appropriate professionals for compliance guidance.
Is the text under the black box really gone?
Yes. This tool does not place a black rectangle on top of the text, which is the classic redaction mistake that lets anyone copy the hidden words out from underneath. Instead, every page you drew a box on is converted to an image and the boxes are burned into the pixels, so the original text simply does not exist in the downloaded file.
Is my document uploaded while I redact it?
No. The rendering, the drawing, and the export all run in your browser on your own device. A document you are redacting is by definition sensitive, and it never touches a server at any point in the process.
Can I remove a box I drew by mistake?
Yes, at any time before downloading. Each page has an Undo button that removes the most recent box on that page, and a Clear button that removes all of them. Once the file is downloaded, the redactions in it are permanent.
Are the pages still searchable after redacting?
Pages you did not redact are copied into the output unchanged, so they keep their original text, quality, and searchability. Only pages with redaction boxes are converted to images, which is why the hidden content cannot be recovered from the output file, and those specific pages lose selectable text as a result.
Is this suitable for legal or compliance redaction?
The method is technically sound: the underlying text and metadata are destroyed, not hidden. However, it is not a certified redaction workflow, and regulated contexts such as court filings or HIPAA governed records often require certified tools and documented procedures. For those, consult a professional redaction solution.
Which output quality should I choose?
Balanced is right for most documents. Choose Smaller File when the redacted PDF needs to squeeze under an email attachment limit, and Maximum Quality when the document will be printed or contains fine print that must stay perfectly legible. File size roughly doubles with each step up.
Does the tool work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the internet entirely and redact your document, which is also a simple way to verify for yourself that nothing is being transmitted.