How to Redact a PDF Online for Free (Permanently Hide Text)
Black-out names, numbers and sensitive lines in a PDF so they're truly gone — not just covered. Runs 100% in your browser.
Redacting is not the same as covering
Real redaction destroys the underlying content — the text is removed from the file, leaving a blank or blacked-out area that cannot be recovered. That's what courts, HR and compliance teams require when sensitive details are removed from disclosed documents.
Slapping a black rectangle over text with a drawing tool only hides it visually; the text is still in the file and can be selected, searched and copy-pasted right out from underneath.
Redacting in the browser, privately
The Redact PDF tool rasterizes your pages locally and permanently burns the redaction into the document before you download it. The sensitive text no longer exists in the output file.
Because redaction is a privacy operation, it's a strong fit for a no-upload tool: you're handling names, addresses, account numbers and other data you never want leaving your device.
Redacting specific terms automatically
If the document is long or the same words appear many times — an email address, a client name, an invoice number — the Auto-Redact PDF tool finds every occurrence for you and redacts them all at once.
That removes the classic redaction mistake of missing one of ten identical mentions and leaking the information anyway.
Check before you share
After redacting, open the output and confirm you can no longer select or search the removed text. Some viewers will happily still show cached search results if you forget to re-open.
Redacting a copy is the safe pattern: keep your original intact and share the redacted version only.
Try it free — Redact PDF
Draw black redaction boxes over private content on any page, then export the redacted PDF — all locally.
Open Redact PDF