Redact a PDF

Drawing a black rectangle in an ordinary PDF editor, or highlighting text in black, usually only covers the text. The words are still in the file: anyone can select and copy them, search finds them, and removing the shape reveals them. Improperly redacted court filings and government documents have exposed hidden text this way.

This tool removes the content itself. Under each box it deletes:

• the characters of the text,
• the covered pixels of images,
• vector drawings that sit entirely inside the box, such as a drawn signature,
• comments and form-field values in that area.

Everything outside the boxes stays exactly as it was: real text you can select and search, and sharp vector graphics.

Search and mark. Type a word, name, number or phrase and click Find and mark. Every occurrence on every page gets a box. Matching ignores upper and lower case.

Preset patterns. One click marks every email address, phone number, bank account or IBAN number, ID-type number (such as a Social Security number or tax ID) or date in the document.

Draw boxes. Drag a rectangle with your mouse or finger over anything else: a signature, a photo, a stamp, or text on a scanned page that search can't find. Click a box to remove it.

The fill color can be black, white (so the redaction is not obvious) or gray.

After saving, the tool reopens the result and checks every redacted page: no text may remain under the boxes, and nothing may have changed outside them.

If a page fails that check, or contains image types that can't be edited pixel by pixel (some fax-style scans: CCITT, JBIG2 and JPEG 2000 images), that page alone is converted to an image with the redaction burned in. The summary tells you which pages were handled this way.

For maximum caution, choose Flatten redacted pages to images. Every page with a box then becomes an image at the resolution you pick:

Text on flattened pages can't be selected or searched. You can restore searchability with OCR PDF afterward; the redacted content stays gone.

A PDF carries more than what you see on the page: author and title, the software that made it, attached files, JavaScript, page thumbnails and comments. Any of these can leak a name or an older version of a page.

Remove hidden data is on by default and strips all of that from the redacted file. Turn it off only if you know the recipient needs that information. Everything happens in your browser, so the unredacted original never leaves your device.

• Check every page visually. Search only finds text the PDF actually contains; scanned pages need manual boxes.
• Search the result for the redacted words to confirm they are gone.
• Watch variations. Search for a number with and without dashes, and for a name with and without a middle initial.
• Rename the file if its name contains a person's name or a case number.
• Keep the original in a safe place. Redaction can't be undone.

You need to send a 12-page medical bill to your FSA administrator without your Social Security number or diagnosis codes. Drop the PDF here and click the Tax IDs and ID numbers pattern: the SSN is marked in 3 places. Then draw boxes over the diagnosis column on pages 2 and 3. Click Download redacted PDF. The summary confirms that no text remains under the 5 boxes and nothing else changed, and every page keeps its searchable text.