Redact a PDF (properly)
Most free tools draw a black box and call it done. The text is still under there, and anyone can copy it out. This one deletes it, then checks.
Drop your PDF here
Your file stays in this tab. Nothing is uploaded.
A black box over text isn't a redaction. The words are still in the file, and selecting and copying the box brings them back. Real redaction deletes the text from the page's content, then paints the box. The two look identical. Only one is safe to send.
How it works
- 1
Open your PDF
Drop it in. It's read by this tab, not sent anywhere.
- 2
Pick what goes
Search for fixed-format data like emails, card numbers and IBANs, or draw a box over anything else. Tick each thing that should go. Nothing is removed until you do.
- 3
Download
The pages you redacted are rebuilt so the text is gone. Then we re-read the file and tell you if anything you ticked survived.
Also in here
Copy the text out
Export a PDF's own text as plain text or Markdown, in reading order.
Read scanned pages
Pages with no text layer are flagged, and OCR runs in your browser on just those.
Turn a table into CSV
Drag a box round a table and export it as CSV, JSON or Markdown.
Nothing is uploaded
Every step runs in this tab. There is no upload, no queue, no processing server.
No limits, no account
Nothing runs on our machines, so there's no daily cap, no sign-up and no watermark.
You tick every item
Matches are highlighted and left alone until you tick them. You decide what goes.
Questions
Can someone undo my redaction?
If the text was actually removed, no, because there's nothing left to recover. If it was only covered, yes, in seconds. Not sure which you've got? Run it through the redaction checker at /check-redaction.
Does it find names automatically?
No. The pattern search finds things with a fixed shape: email addresses, phone numbers, card numbers, IBANs, US Social Security numbers, UK National Insurance numbers, UK postcodes, IP addresses and dates of birth. Names, addresses written in a sentence, salaries and anything that depends on context need your eyes. Search first, then read the document.
Is my file uploaded?
No. It's opened, edited and saved by your browser. There's no server to upload it to.
What happens to the pages I redact?
Each page with a redaction on it is rebuilt as an image with the boxes painted in, so the text on that page is gone, not hidden. The trade-off is that the rest of that page can't be selected or searched any more, and the file gets bigger. Pages you don't touch keep their real text.
Is this OK for court filings?
If you need a formal record of what was removed, use a tool built for legal disclosure. This is for everything else: bank statements, contracts, forms you're sending to a landlord.