Redaction that actually removes the text
Drop a PDF above, drag black boxes over anything the recipient must not see, and download a copy where that content is genuinely gone. Most “redaction” fails because a black rectangle drawn over PDF text is only a cover — the text is still in the file, one copy-paste away. This tool takes the safe route: every page you touch is re-rendered as a flat 2x image with the boxed pixels destroyed before the file is rebuilt, while untouched pages are copied over vector-intact with their selectable text preserved.
The honest trade-off: redacted pages lose selectable, searchable text — that loss is exactly the proof the content cannot be recovered. Everything happens in your browser; the document is never uploaded, which is the only sensible design for files whose entire problem is that they contain something sensitive.
Redacting pairs naturally with the rest of the privacy cluster: blur or black out screenshots with the image redactor, strip hidden GPS and camera data with the EXIF remover, and check document-level fields with the PDF metadata viewer. Password-locked files need Unlock PDF first, and if the rasterized result runs large, the PDF compressor brings it back down. For a visible-but-recoverable mark instead — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL — you want the PDF watermark, not redaction.
Frequently asked questions
Isn’t drawing a black box over text enough to redact a PDF?
No — and this is the most common redaction failure there is. A black rectangle drawn on top of a PDF page is just another object; the text underneath remains in the file and can be selected, copied, or extracted in seconds. Court filings and government releases have leaked exactly this way. This tool avoids the trap: any page you draw a box on is re-rendered as a flat image with the boxed pixels replaced by solid black, so the covered content is not hidden — it is gone from the file.
Why is text no longer selectable on redacted pages?
That is the guarantee working as intended. Truly removing content from a PDF page in the browser means rasterizing the page — converting it to a picture — before blacking out the boxes. The trade-off is real: redacted pages lose selectable, searchable text. Pages you did not touch are copied over unchanged and keep their text. If losing selectability on a page is unacceptable, that page cannot be safely redacted with an overlay approach anywhere — not just here.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The document is rendered, redacted, and rebuilt entirely in your browser with pdf.js and pdf-lib. For a tool whose whole point is that the file contains sensitive content, nothing leaving your device is the only acceptable design.
Why did my redacted PDF get bigger?
Redacted pages are stored as 2x-resolution JPEG images (quality 0.9), which is usually larger than the original vector page — especially for text-heavy pages. Untouched pages do not grow. If the result is bulky, run it through our PDF compressor.
Can I blur or pixelate instead of blacking out?
Deliberately not for PDFs. Lightly blurred or pixelated text can sometimes be reconstructed, and offering it here would invite false confidence in a tool people use for legal and financial documents. Solid black is the only mode. For photos and screenshots, our image redactor offers blur and pixelate alongside blackout, with the same warnings.
Does redacting remove document metadata too?
Page content inside your boxes is destroyed, but document-level metadata (title, author, producer) is a separate concern — check it with the PDF metadata viewer. For photos, EXIF data is the equivalent hidden risk; strip it with the EXIF remover.