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Security & Privacy

Redact PDF Free Online, for Good

Redact PDF free online without uploading it: drag boxes over names, account numbers or whole paragraphs, or search for every match. What’s under each box is removed from the file, not just hidden.

Redact PDF

Settings appear once you add a PDF.

Advanced 3
Keep the rest of the text searchable Redacted pages become images; this puts the words you didn’t redact back as invisible, selectable text.
Also remove the author, title and other metadata
Quality of redacted pages

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Bytes sent anywhere: 0 B

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  • 100% private Your PDF never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
  • No limits No file-size cap, no watermark, no sign-up and no daily quota. Free.
  • Works offline Once this page has loaded, the tool keeps working without a connection.

How to redact a PDF free online

  1. Add your PDF: Drop the PDF. It opens here, page by page — nothing is uploaded.

  2. Check the settings: Drag a box over anything sensitive, or type a word or number into Find to mark every match at once. Use Whole page for pages that should go entirely.

  3. Save the result: Press Redact and save. Each marked page is rebuilt without what was under the boxes, and the rest of the file is left exactly as it was.

Why it doesn’t upload

Redaction exists because a document is sensitive. Uploading it to a redaction website hands the unredacted original to a stranger before a single word is hidden. Here, the PDF is read and rewritten inside your browser tab, so the only copy that ever exists outside your device is the redacted one you choose to send.

Check it in your browser’s Network tab

Worth knowing

  • Pages with redactions are rebuilt as images, so fine print on them is only as sharp as the quality setting. Pages without redactions are untouched.
  • Form fields, comments and links on redacted pages are removed along with the page’s old content.
  • Words half-covered by a box are removed entirely from the searchable text, so a partial name can’t be recovered by copying.
  • Password-protected PDFs need their password removed first.
  • Text inside images (a scanned signature, a photo of an ID) is removed only where you draw a box over it.

Under the hood

What happens to your file

A black box drawn over text only hides it; the words are still in the file. Here, every page with a redaction is rendered with the boxes burned in, so nothing under a box survives as text, drawing or image. The page’s other words can go back on top as invisible text so it stays searchable, form fields and comments on those pages are removed, and qpdf rewrites the file so the old page content is not left behind as an orphaned object.

Runs on pdf.jspdf-libqpdf

Reference: qpdf manual · ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)

Why redact a PDF in your browser instead of uploading it?

The PDFs that need redacting are, by definition, the ones holding something nobody else should read: an account number, a patient’s name, a witness’s address. Sending that file to a redaction service so the secret can be removed means the secret travels first. Here the file is opened inside your browser tab, the boxes are drawn on your screen, and the redacted copy is written on your own device.

It also removes the text for real. A black rectangle drawn in a PDF editor is only a shape on top of the words, and anyone can copy the words out from underneath it. Pages you redact here are rebuilt, so what was under each box is gone from the file — not hidden, not layered, gone.

Common reasons to redact a PDF before sharing it

  • Bank statements for a rental or visa application

    Landlords and consulates want to see your balance and regular income, not every merchant you paid. Black out the transactions and keep the totals.

  • Court and legal documents

    Filings, discovery productions and evidence bundles often need names of minors, addresses or account numbers removed before they are served or published.

  • Medical records and insurance claims

    Send an insurer the pages it asked for with unrelated diagnoses or other patients’ details redacted.

  • Redacting sensitive data without a cloud upload

    Nothing is sent to a server, so the redaction never exposes what you are hiding — and once the page has loaded it keeps working offline.

  • HR files and payslips

    Share a salary slip for a loan with the employee ID and tax reference blacked out, or anonymize a grievance record before it goes to a review panel.

  • Freedom-of-information and public releases

    Publish a report or contract with personal data and commercially sensitive figures removed, so the released PDF can’t leak them.

Pro tips for redacting a PDF properly

  1. Use search to find every occurrence of a name or number. It catches the mention on page 14 that a quick scroll misses.
  2. Draw boxes slightly larger than the words. A box that half-covers a word removes the whole word from the searchable text, so be generous.
  3. Remember headers, footers, and text inside images such as a scanned signature or an ID photo: redact those areas with a box too.
  4. Turn on Also remove the author, title and other metadata when the file’s properties could name the person you are protecting.
  5. Open the saved copy and try to select the redacted area. Nothing should come out — that is your proof before you send it.

Questions

Is drawing a black box over text the same as redacting it?

No — and that mistake is behind most leaked “redacted” documents. A box drawn in an editor sits on top of the text, which is still in the file and can be copied out. This tool removes what’s under the box: the page is rebuilt without it.

How do I redact a PDF without Adobe Acrobat?

Drop it here, drag boxes over what should go (or use Find to mark every match), and press Redact and save. It works in any modern browser, free, with no account.

Can someone recover the redacted text?

No. The redacted page is replaced by an image with the boxes burned in, the old page content is deleted from the file, and the words under the boxes are left out of the searchable text.

Can I redact the same name everywhere at once?

Yes. Type it into Find and press Redact matches: every occurrence on every page gets a box, which you can review page by page before saving.

Will the rest of my PDF still be searchable?

Yes, by default. Unredacted words on redacted pages are put back as invisible text, and pages without redactions keep their original text entirely.

Is it safe to redact confidential documents here?

Yes. The PDF never leaves your browser tab — there’s no upload step at all. You can switch off your internet after the page loads and it still works.

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