Redact PDF
Draw boxes over private details; what is under them is removed from the file.
- Free, no sign-up
- Files stay on your device
- PDF / up to 50 MB
Step by step
How to redact a PDF
Step 1: Drop a PDF on the box above, or select Choose file. The first page opens large.
Step 2: Drag across anything private to cover it with a black box. Move between pages with the arrows; drag a box or its corners to adjust it.
Step 3: Select Redact PDF, then Download PDF and check every page.
Removed, not just covered
A black rectangle drawn on top of a PDF often hides nothing: the text underneath can still be selected, copied or found by search. This tool does it differently. Every page with a box is turned into a picture with the boxes painted in, and the original page is left out of the new file, so the covered words, images and links are gone.
Pages without a box are copied across unchanged.
What to expect
Redacted pages become pictures at about 150 dpi. They print and read well, but their text can no longer be selected or searched, and the file may get larger. Fill-in form fields and links on those pages are removed too.
The document information of the original (title, author and similar) is not copied into the new file. Bookmarks are not carried over either.
Using a keyboard
Select Add a box to place a box without dragging. Focus a box with Tab; the arrow keys move it, Shift with the arrows moves it further, Alt with the arrows resizes it, and Delete removes it.
Private
The pages are drawn and the new PDF is made inside your browser tab. Your file is never uploaded.