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Redact PDF

Draw black boxes over names, SSNs, account numbers — then download a permanently redacted PDF. The hidden text is destroyed, not just covered. Your file never leaves your device.

100% in-browser No signup No upload True redaction
Drop a PDF here, or tap to choose one
Works with mouse and touch. Your file never leaves this device.
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Draw at least one black box above to enable the download.

Permanent — and your responsibility to check. Redaction cannot be undone. Only the areas you black out are destroyed; anything you miss stays readable. Always open the downloaded file and inspect every page before you share it.
Private by design. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your PDF is never uploaded to a server, stored anywhere, or seen by anyone but you — redaction happens on your device, which is exactly where sensitive documents belong.

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Last updated: October 2026

How do I permanently redact a PDF?

Short answer: Upload your PDF, draw black boxes over anything sensitive, and download the rebuilt file. This tool burns each redacted page into a flat image — the original text is destroyed, not just covered. Everything happens in your browser; your file is never uploaded.

How to redact a PDF with this tool

  1. Choose your PDF. Tap the upload area or drop a file onto it. The document is read on your device only — nothing is sent anywhere.
  2. Mark what to hide. On each page, draw black boxes over names, ID numbers, addresses, signatures — anything sensitive — with your mouse or finger. Use Prev / Next to move between pages. Made a mistake? Use Undo last box or Clear this page before you download.
  3. Download the redacted file. Press Apply redactions & download. Pages you marked are rebuilt as images with the boxes permanently burned in; untouched pages are kept exactly as they were.
  4. Verify before you share. Open the downloaded PDF and inspect every page. Redaction is permanent, and only the areas you blacked out are destroyed — if you missed a spot, it is still readable. For high-stakes documents, the UK National Archives' redaction considerations guidance is a useful checklist of what to look for.

What “true redaction” means here

Redaction (also called sanitization) is the process of removing sensitive information from a document so it can be safely shared — but many PDF editors “redact” by merely drawing a black rectangle on top of the page. The original text stays in the file underneath — anyone can select it, copy it, or extract it. That is a cover-up, not a redaction.

This tool does burn-in redaction: each page you mark is re-rendered with your black boxes applied, and that page is then replaced in the output file by the flattened image. The original text objects are not present in the new file at all — there is nothing underneath to recover. Our automated tests verify this structurally by searching the output file’s bytes for the original text and confirming it is gone.

Two honest consequences of this method: a redacted page becomes a plain image, so interactive elements on that page (form fields, links, annotations) are flattened away; and pages you never mark are copied through untouched, keeping their text selectable and searchable.

Frequently asked questions

Is redaction permanent? Can it be reversed?
Yes — permanent and irreversible. Every redacted page is rebuilt as a flattened image with the black boxes burned in, so the original text objects no longer exist anywhere in the output file. There is nothing to recover and no way to undo it, which is why you should always keep a copy of the original if you need one.
Does any text remain hidden under the black boxes?
No. That only happens with fake redaction, where an editor draws a black rectangle over text that stays in the file. This tool rebuilds the page as an image, so the underlying text is genuinely destroyed — it cannot be selected, copied, or extracted from the downloaded file.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
Never. Rendering, drawing, and rebuilding the PDF all run locally in your browser with JavaScript. Your file is never uploaded, stored, or transmitted — it never leaves your device.
What happens to the document’s metadata?
The rebuilt PDF has its title, author, subject, and keywords stripped out, since metadata can itself leak sensitive information. Only a neutral producer value is set.
Can I redact only some pages and keep the rest searchable?
Yes. Only pages where you draw redaction boxes are rebuilt as images. Every other page is copied into the output file exactly as it was — text stays selectable and searchable there.
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. Scanned PDFs are already images, and burn-in redaction works on them the same way: your black boxes become a permanent part of the page image in the downloaded file.

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