Redact PDF
Draw black boxes over names, numbers, or anything private. Redacted pages are flattened to an image on the way out, so the hidden content is truly gone — not just covered by a box you can delete or copy underneath. Pages you don't touch keep their crisp, selectable text.
Drag & drop your files
or click to choose from your device
One PDF. Drag black boxes over anything private.
Redacting permanently hides sensitive parts of a PDF — names, account numbers, addresses, signatures — by covering them and removing what's underneath. The trap with most 'redaction' is a black rectangle drawn on top of text that's still sitting in the file, ready to be selected, copied, or lifted out. This tool avoids that: any page you mark is rebuilt as a flat image with the black bars baked in, so the original content is genuinely gone.
How to redact pdf
- 1
Open your PDF
Drop in a single PDF. Pages render one at a time so you can review the whole document before exporting.
- 2
Box out the sensitive bits
Drag a black box over anything you want to hide. Add as many as you need across as many pages as you need; hover a box and click ✕ to undo one.
- 3
Export the flattened copy
Click Redact. Marked pages are flattened to an image with the bars burned in; untouched pages keep their sharp, selectable text. Download the safe copy.
Everything runs in your browser. Your file is never uploaded — there’s no server to send it to, no sign-up, and nothing to delete afterward.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real redaction, or just a black box on top?
- Real redaction. Every page you mark is rasterised and the black bars are painted into that image, then the page is rebuilt from the image. The text and graphics that were underneath no longer exist in the file, so they can't be selected, copied, or recovered.
- Can someone copy the text hidden behind the box?
- No. Because redacted pages become flat images, there is no underlying text layer left behind the bars to select or extract — unlike a rectangle annotation drawn over live text.
- Will my whole document turn into images?
- Only the pages you actually draw on are flattened. Pages you leave untouched are copied across unchanged, keeping their original quality and selectable text.
- Does redacting increase the file size?
- Flattened pages are stored as JPEG images, which can be larger or smaller than the original depending on the content. If size matters, run the result through the Compress tool afterward.
- Is my file uploaded to redact it?
- No. Rendering, the black bars, and the rebuilt PDF all happen in your browser. The document never leaves your device.