Redact PDF Free

Redact PDF is a free online tool that permanently removes sensitive text, numbers and images from a PDF. Draw boxes over what you want gone, or auto-detect SSNs, emails and phone numbers, and the tool rebuilds those pages as images so the hidden text can't be copied or recovered. It runs entirely in your browser, so your PDF is never uploaded.

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Permanently remove sensitive information from PDF documents. Draw black boxes over text you want to hide, and the content will be truly deleted—not just covered up. All processing happens in your browser; your file never leaves your device.

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Drop a PDF file here or click to select

Your file stays on your device and is never uploaded

How to Redact a PDF (Complete Guide)

What does "redact" mean?

Redacting means permanently removing sensitive information from a document. When you redact something, you're not just hiding it—you're completely deleting it so it can't be recovered. This is different from highlighting or covering text with a black box, which can often be removed to reveal the original content.

How does this tool truly redact PDFs?

This tool uses true redaction, not fake covering. Here's what happens:

  • Pages with redactions are converted to images: Any page where you draw a redaction box is rasterized (turned into a picture) with the black boxes burned in permanently.
  • Text becomes pixels: Once converted to an image, the text layer is gone. You can't select, copy, or extract the hidden text.
  • Metadata is stripped: Document properties, author names, and other metadata are removed.
  • No hidden data: The output PDF contains only what you can see.

Why this matters: Many PDF editors just draw a black rectangle over text. The text is still there underneath and can be copied or extracted. Our tool actually destroys the original data.

How to use this tool

  1. Upload your PDF: Drag and drop or click to select a PDF file from your device.
  2. Draw redaction boxes: Click and drag on the document to create black boxes over sensitive information. You can draw as many as you need on each page.
  3. Use auto-detect (optional): Click the SSN, Email, Phone, or Credit Card buttons to automatically find and mark common sensitive data. Review the suggestions and remove any you don't want.
  4. Search for text (optional): Enter any text in the search box and click Find to locate and mark all instances.
  5. Navigate pages: Use the Prev/Next buttons to move between pages and add redactions wherever needed.
  6. Undo mistakes: Click "Undo Last" to remove the most recent redaction box, or "Clear Page" to remove all boxes from the current page.
  7. Export: When finished, click "Export Redacted PDF" to download your redacted file. Pages with redactions will be converted to images to ensure the data is truly gone.

Can I redact PDFs on a Mac?

Yes! This tool works on Mac computers in any modern browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge). Since it runs entirely in your browser, it works the same on macOS, Windows, Linux, and even Chromebooks. No software installation needed.

Can I redact PDFs on an iPhone or iPad?

Absolutely. This tool works on iPhones and iPads running iOS/iPadOS 14 or later. Open it in Safari or Chrome, upload your PDF, and use your finger or Apple Pencil to draw redaction boxes. The touch interface works just like drawing on any tablet.

What gets auto-detected?

The auto-detect feature scans the text layer of your PDF and can find:

  • Social Security Numbers: Patterns like 123-45-6789 or 123 45 6789
  • Email addresses: Any text matching email format (name@domain.com)
  • Phone numbers: US phone patterns including (555) 123-4567, 555-123-4567, and 5551234567
  • Credit card numbers: 13-19 digit sequences that match card number formats

These are suggestions based on pattern matching. Always review the detected items—false positives can happen, and not all instances may be sensitive.

Why don't some PDF editors really redact?

Many free PDF tools (and even some paid ones) only draw a black shape on top of text. This looks like redaction, but the original text remains in the file. Anyone can:

  • Copy and paste the "redacted" text into another document
  • Use PDF text extraction tools to pull out all text, including "hidden" content
  • Sometimes even remove the black box to reveal the original

True redaction requires destroying the original content. That's what this tool does by converting redacted pages to images.

Is my file really private?

Yes. Your PDF is processed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. The file never leaves your computer—it's not uploaded to any server. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads and the tool will still work. See our Privacy Policy for details.

What about scanned PDFs or image-based PDFs?

You can still redact them by manually drawing boxes over sensitive areas. However, auto-detect and search won't work because scanned PDFs don't have a searchable text layer—they're just images of paper documents. The redaction will still be permanent when you export.

Are there file size limits?

No hard limits, but performance depends on your device. Very large PDFs (over 50-100 MB or 100+ pages) may be slow to load or export, especially on phones or older computers. If you experience issues, try redacting large documents in smaller batches.

What resolution should I use?

The resolution setting controls the quality of redacted pages after they're converted to images:

  • Standard (72 DPI): Smaller file size, suitable for screen viewing. Text may look slightly fuzzy when zoomed in.
  • High (144 DPI) - Recommended: Good balance of quality and file size. Readable when printed on standard printers.
  • Higher/Highest (216-288 DPI): Best quality for printing or archival. Larger file size.

If you're just sharing digitally, High is usually fine. If you need to print the document, consider Higher or Highest.