Redact PDF
Draw boxes over sensitive areas. Redacted pages are flattened to images so the hidden content is truly removed - not just covered.
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About Redact PDF
Redaction is the operation most commonly done wrong, and the failures are well documented. Drawing a black rectangle in a PDF editor covers text visually while leaving it in the file, where it can be selected, copied or extracted by anyone who thinks to try. Court filings, government disclosures and corporate documents have all leaked this way.
Redaction here removes the content rather than hiding it. The area you mark is flattened so the underlying text and image data no longer exist in the output. Copying from the redacted region returns nothing, because there is nothing left to return.
There is a second problem with redacting online that is rarely acknowledged. Redaction exists specifically to remove sensitive material, so uploading the unredacted document to a service in order to redact it means transmitting the very content you are trying to protect, in its original form, before anything has been removed. Doing the work locally removes that step entirely.
One thing to check yourself: redaction covers what is on the page, not what is stored around it. Document metadata, the filename and any attachments can still carry identifying information. Run Scrub Metadata afterwards before releasing a file.
How to redact pdf
- Load the document
Drop it in. This is the step that would otherwise mean uploading unredacted material.
- Mark what to remove
Draw boxes over the areas that must go. Add as many as you need across any pages.
- Apply
Marked regions are flattened and the underlying content is destroyed, not covered.
- Verify and scrub
Try selecting text in the redacted areas to confirm nothing remains, then run Scrub Metadata before sharing.
Related tasks
Guides for the specific jobs people bring to this tool. Each one opens the same tool with the right settings.
Frequently asked questions
Is the redacted text really gone?
Yes. The marked areas are flattened so the original text and image data are not present in the output file. You can confirm it by trying to select or search for the removed text in the downloaded document.
Why is drawing a black box in a PDF editor not enough?
Because a drawn rectangle is a graphic placed on top of the page. The text underneath is untouched and can still be selected, copied or extracted programmatically. This is the cause of most published redaction failures.
Does redaction remove metadata too?
No, and this catches people out. Author names, timestamps and producing software live outside the page content. Run Scrub Metadata before releasing a redacted document.
Is this suitable for FOIA or legal disclosure?
The removal is genuine, which is the core requirement. Follow your own verification procedure as well, since responsibility for a disclosure rests with whoever releases it.