Redact PDF
Draw black boxes over sensitive content. Optionally rasterize pages to make redaction permanent.
🔒 Processed locally in your browser.
⚠ Important — read this
By default, redaction boxes only cover content visually. The text underneath remains in the PDF data layer and could theoretically be extracted. For safe redaction, enable "Rasterize pages" below — this converts pages to images and permanently destroys the underlying text. Trade-off: text becomes non-selectable.
Drop a PDF here or click to select
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20 px
Draw over the content with the redaction brush. Drag smoothly across the page.
0 boxes
How to redact a PDF
- Drop your PDF into the box above.
- Navigate to the page you want to redact.
- Click and drag to draw black boxes over sensitive content.
- Decide: leave as-is (visual cover) or enable Rasterize pages for permanent redaction.
- Click Save redacted PDF.
Technical limitations — please read
- Default redaction is NOT secure. A black box drawn over text does not remove the text from the PDF. Anyone with a PDF parser can extract the underlying content.
- Enable "Rasterize pages" for true removal. This converts each page to an image, destroying all text and vector data. Text will no longer be selectable or searchable, and the file may get larger.
- Rasterization affects the whole page, not just redacted areas.
- For legal, government, or compliance-grade redaction, use a dedicated tool with certified redaction (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Pro).
Frequently asked
Is visual redaction safe?
No — a determined reader can extract the underlying text. It's fine for casual sharing, but not for privacy-critical documents.
What does Rasterize do?
It converts each page into an image. Text and metadata are permanently destroyed. The resulting PDF looks identical but text is no longer selectable.
Can I redact just one page?
Yes — rasterization is applied page by page, but with this option enabled, every page you save is rasterized (they're all part of the same output). Plan accordingly.