Redact PDF online, for real

Black out account numbers, addresses or names so they can't be recovered. Drawing a black rectangle isn't enough; this tool removes what's underneath.

Runs in your browser. Your PDF is never uploaded. No sign-up, no watermark.

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Why a black box is not redaction

Court filings and government reports have leaked "redacted" names this way for years: someone drew black rectangles in a PDF editor, and anyone who selected the text underneath and pasted it into a new document could read every word. The box sat on top; the text never left.

How to redact a PDF

  1. Open the PDF; the Redact tool is ready.
  2. Drag a box over each thing to remove. Cover a little extra at the edges.
  3. Download PDF. Each page with a redaction is re-drawn as an image with the boxes burned in; the original text, fields and hidden layers on that page are dropped.
  4. Check it: open the download and try selecting text under a black box. Nothing should highlight.

Whiteout: for fixes, not secrets

Whiteout draws a plain white box, handy for hiding a typo before typing the correction on top, or blanking an old date. It is fast and keeps the page's text selectable, but the covered words are still in the file. Use it for appearance; use Redact for privacy.

What to redact on common documents

  • Bank statements for a rental application: account and sort/routing numbers, and individual transactions the landlord doesn't need.
  • Payslips: tax ID or National Insurance number and employee ID.
  • ID documents: document number and date of birth, if the recipient only needs to see your name and photo.
  • Medical letters: diagnosis details unrelated to the request.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between Whiteout and Redact?

Whiteout draws a white box on top: the old text is hidden but still in the file and can be copied out. Redact re-draws the whole page as an image with the black boxes burned in, so the covered text is gone from the file.

What happens to the rest of a redacted page?

That page becomes a high-resolution image (about 180 dpi). It looks the same and prints well, but its text can no longer be selected or searched, and any form fields on it are flattened. Other pages keep their real text.

Does redaction remove hidden data like metadata?

It removes everything that was on the redacted page. It does not rewrite document metadata such as the author name or title; if those are sensitive, clear them in the app that made the PDF before redacting.

Is it safe to redact a bank statement or ID here?

Nothing is uploaded, so the unredacted file never leaves your device. After downloading, check the result: try selecting the text under a black box. On a correctly redacted page nothing will select.

Other things you can do here