Choose a PDF, drag boxes over anything to remove (or use the suggestion buttons), then press the red button: the tool rebuilds the file on this device so whatever a box covers no longer exists anywhere in it.
Redact PDF - Black Out Text Permanently, No Upload
Black out names, numbers, and any sensitive text in a PDF so the content is truly deleted from the file - not just covered by a rectangle - entirely in this browser, with no upload.
How the redaction works
The output is a rebuilt PDF where every page is an image: the original text, fonts, and document properties are not copied over, which is exactly why nothing under a box can be recovered - and why no text on any page can be selected or searched afterwards.
Key features
- Redaction runs on this device: mark what to remove by hand or with the suggestion buttons, and one click rebuilds the file so the marked areas are gone from every saved copy.
- Two suggestion helpers draw draft boxes for you to review: an instant pattern pass for emails, phone numbers, card numbers, and IBANs, and an optional on-device AI pass for names, organizations, and places (about 105 MB, downloaded once on your click, size stated first).
- Suggestions are drafts, never automatic redaction. Each suggested box can be deleted with a click, boxes can be drawn by hand on any page, and nothing changes until the red button is pressed.
Limits to know before you start
Scanned pages carry no embedded text, so the suggestion helpers cannot see them (hand-drawn boxes still work there), and password-protected PDFs must have their password removed first - files over 50 pages should be split first so no page is silently missed.
Redaction vs password protection
| Action | What it controls | Can it be undone? |
|---|---|---|
| Redaction (this tool) | Deletes the content for everyone | No - a redaction cannot be recovered |
| Password protection | Controls who can open the file | Yes - a password can be removed later |
Related tools on this site
Related jobs on this site: to scrub names and numbers out of plain text instead of a PDF, use the Text Anonymizer (it shares the same on-device AI model, so the download happens only once between the two pages). To make the redacted file's remaining text searchable again, run it through OCR PDF. And note the difference from password protection: a password controls who can OPEN the file, while redaction DELETES content for everyone - a password can be removed later, a redaction cannot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the text really removed, or just hidden under a black box?
Really removed. The download is a rebuilt PDF: each page is re-created as an image with the black boxes baked in, and the original text, fonts, and document properties are not copied into the new file. A copy-paste, Ctrl+F, or a PDF text extractor finds nothing under a box - which is the difference between redaction and a rectangle drawn on top of live text.
How do I mark what gets removed?
Drag on any page to draw a box over the text, exactly like drawing a selection rectangle. Click a box to delete it. Nothing changes until you press the red button, so you can adjust the boxes as long as you like.
Can the tool find sensitive text for me?
Two helpers draw draft boxes for you to review. The instant pattern pass finds emails, phone numbers, card numbers, and IBANs with no download. The optional AI pass finds likely names, organizations, and places on this device - it downloads about 105 MB once, on your click, with the size stated first. Both only suggest: check every page yourself, because no detector provably finds everything, and scanned pages have no embedded text for the helpers to read.
Why can I no longer select or search text in the result?
Because every page becomes an image - that is the mechanism that guarantees the removed content is gone. If you need the remaining text searchable again, run the redacted file through the OCR PDF tool on this site, which writes a fresh text layer over the pages.
Does my PDF get uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is opened, rendered, and rebuilt entirely in your browser with page-rendering and PDF libraries served from this site. The only thing that ever downloads is the optional AI suggestion model - and that travels TO your device, not from it.
What about password-protected or very long PDFs?
Password-protected files must be unlocked first - this site has a PDF password remover for that. Files over 50 pages are refused so that no page can be silently missed; split them first with the PDF splitter, then redact each part.