PDF Redactor
Black out names, numbers and whole pages in a PDF. The redacted copy is checked before you share it.
Automatic search can and will miss things, especially on sloppy scans, faxes and photos. Read every page yourself before you share it, and draw a box over anything it missed.
Add a PDF above and this turns onWhat this free PDF redactor can do
- Create your ownWrite your own text on a redaction boxLike WITHHELD or a case number
- Draw a box over any text, picture or signature
- Search for a name or number and mark every match it finds
- Mark emails, SSNs, card numbers and more in one click
- Read scanned pages and photos
- Black out whole pages or a page range
- Pick black, white, a stamp, the Redact logo or pink flowers
- Text under a box is deleted, not just covered
- Author, comments and attachments go too
- The saved copy is checked before you share it
Write your own redaction text
Type a few words and they become a white-on-black strip, like WITHHELD or a case number. Show a reader why something was taken out, or tag each box for your own records. Some PDF editors call this overlay text. Here it's free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Up to 40 characters on a worn black strip
- A different message on each box in the same PDF
- Solid like every other style, so it hides what's under it
Draw a box over anything
Drag across a page to cover what you want gone. It doesn't matter what's there. A box works the same over a line of text, a photo or a handwritten signature, so you can redact what search can't read.
- Typed text, pictures, signatures and stamps
- Click a box to remove it
- Undo a step, or clear them all and start over
Find a name on every page
Type a name, a number or a word and Mark all boxes each match on every page. That saves you finding the same name forty times. Search can miss things, so read the pages yourself before you share them.
- Mark all the matches it finds at once, across every open PDF
- Whole words, match case or a regular expression
- Take a whole search back with one click
Mark the usual private details in one click
Each button finds one kind of detail across the whole PDF and shows how many it marked. Press as many as you need, and take any of them back if it marked too much.
- Emails, phone numbers, SSNs, card numbers and IBANs
- Dates, links and IP addresses
- Most long order numbers are left out of the card numbers
Read scanned pages and photos
A scan is a picture of a page, so there's no text in it to search. Read text in pictures finds the words first, then search and the one-click marks work as usual. It will miss some on a sloppy scan, a fax or a photo, so check those pages by eye.
- Reads the English words in pictures, on your device
- Turns sideways pages and straightens tilted ones
- Names the pages it found hard to read
Black out whole pages
When a whole page has to go, skip the boxes. Name the pages once and they're blacked out edge to edge in the saved copy, while the rest of the PDF stays as it was.
- Type a range like 1-3, 7, 10-
- Or press Black out whole page on any page
- Free, up to 75 pages and 50 MB at a time
Choose how the boxes look
Black is what most people expect from a redaction, and white suits a page you'll print. For something different, try a rubber stamp or flowers. Every style is solid, so it hides what's under it just as well as black.
- Black, white, the Redact logo or pink flowers
- Stamps like Confidential, HIPAA, FERPA and For Official Use Only
- Write "REDACTED" on a black or white box
Deleted from the file, not just covered
A black rectangle drawn on a PDF can be moved aside, and the words are still there. Here the page is rebuilt with the box burned in, so what was under it isn't in the saved file to select, copy or search.
- A page with a box is rebuilt as a picture
- Text, images and drawings under a box aren't saved
- Choose Maximum safety to make every page a picture
Checked before you share it
After saving, the tool reads the new copy the way someone trying to undo it would. If what you searched for still shows up on a page, it tells you which one so you can box it and save again.
- The saved copy is opened and read again
- Shows whether anything under a box can be read
- Tells you which pages still have what you searched for
Built to stay on your device
A PDF you need to redact holds what you don't want seen. It's treated that way.
Redacting a PDF: FAQ
Drop the PDF in, then drag a box over anything you want gone, or search for a word and mark every match. Press Save redacted PDF to download the redacted copy. The original file on your device isn't changed.
No. Drawing a black rectangle in most PDF editors only covers the text, which can still be copied out from under it. Here, a page with a box on it is rebuilt as a picture with the box burned in, so the covered text isn't in the file at all.
No. Your browser opens, redacts and saves the PDF on your device. It's never uploaded or stored on our servers, so we can't see it or anything you do to it. Nothing about the file is sent to Redact or anyone else.
It depends on where the redacting happens. Many online tools upload your PDF to their server, so a copy of your file sits on someone else's computer while it's worked on. This one runs in your browser, so the PDF stays on your device the whole time. Whichever tool you use, check that the text is really gone and not just covered.
Yes. This redactor works inside your browser tab, with no upload, no account and no software to install. Your device does all the work on the PDF, including reading scanned pages.
No. We never receive your PDF, so there's no copy for us to keep, delete or hand over. The only copy saved is the redacted one you download to your own device.
No. Your PDF, your searches and any text you type into the tool stay in your browser and aren't sent to us, so we can't see them and there's nothing to intercept on the way. Browser extensions run on your own device, so turn off any you don't trust before working on a sensitive file.
Your file never leaves your device, which is what matters most with sensitive records. Privacy is only part of it, though. Automatic search can miss things, so read every page before you share it. The tool doesn't make a document HIPAA compliant on its own, so follow your organization's rules for those records.
Only when it's safe. With Keep text, a page with nothing marked keeps its text if it shares no font or content with a redacted page. Most PDFs from Word or a browser use the same fonts on every page, so once anything is boxed, all their pages become pictures. Pages also become pictures if the file has layers or can't be copied safely. To make every page a picture, choose Maximum safety.
Yes. A scanned PDF is pictures of pages, with no text inside for a search to find, so press Read text in pictures first. Your browser reads the words on your device, and then search and the presets find them like any other text. Text recognition can misread a word on a blurry, crooked or faint scan, so look over the pages before saving and drag a box over anything it missed. After saving, the copy is read again the same way, and the tool tells you if anything you searched for can still be read.
Yes. Drop them in together and each one gets its own tab. Searches, reading pictures and saving run on all of them, or turn that off and work on one at a time. Each PDF downloads as its own file, so your browser may ask to allow more than one download.
Yes. Type up to 40 characters into the Your own box and new boxes show your words in white on black, like WITHHELD or a case number. This is sometimes called overlay text. Each box keeps the words it was made with, so one PDF can carry different labels. Short boxes cut long text off at the edge.
Yes. Every style is solid and is burned into the page the same way, so what's under the box isn't in the saved file. The Redact logo style puts our logo on your boxes, and it only appears if you pick it.
Up to 50 MB and 75 pages at a time, across every PDF you have open. Everything happens in your browser, and longer files take minutes to save and can run a tab out of memory, especially on a phone. Split a bigger PDF into parts and redact each one.
Yes. Type the password when asked. The redacted copy is saved without a password, and every page is rebuilt as a picture.
The copy doesn't keep the original's title, author, creation details, attachments, scripts or bookmarks. Comments, links and form fields are taken off too unless you turn that option off.
Try Redact for Free
We are frequently adding support to other social network services. You can receive direct updates from us in Redact's Discord Channel.
