Edit PDF
Redact a PDF — Permanently Hide Sensitive Info
Redacting a PDF means permanently removing sensitive information — not just covering it with a black rectangle that anyone can move out of the way in Acrobat. Real redaction strips the underlying text and the visible glyphs, so even copy-paste, search, and OCR-on-the-redacted-file can't recover the hidden data. This is what you need before sharing contracts, court filings, financial records, or anything covered by HIPAA, GDPR, or attorney-client privilege.
- Works in your browser — no install
- Files private and isolated to your workspace
- Free tier covers most everyday use
What you should know
Real redaction vs. fake redaction
Fake: drawing a black rectangle over text in a regular PDF editor. The text underneath stays in the file — courts have caught lawyers exposing client SSNs because their 'redactions' were just shapes. Real: the text is removed from the underlying PDF and replaced with a solid black region. Our redact tool does the second.
What you should redact
Social Security numbers, full credit-card numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth, home addresses (in court filings), names of minors, medical records (HIPAA), client identifiers (attorney-client), and trade secrets in contracts shared with vendors.
Redaction is irreversible
Once you save a redacted PDF, you can't recover the hidden text — even from your own file. Always keep the original (un-redacted) PDF in a secure location separately. Name the redacted version clearly: 'Smith_Contract_REDACTED.pdf'.
Don't forget metadata
PDF metadata (Author, Title, Comments) often contains identifiers that survive redaction. Our tool strips metadata on save by default, but double-check by opening File → Properties in Acrobat or Preview after redacting.
Tips that actually help
- After applying redactions, run the PDF through Find (Ctrl/Cmd+F) and search for any sensitive term you redacted. If it returns hits, redaction failed — start over.
- For court filings, follow the court's specific redaction rules — some require the redacted text to be replaced with [REDACTED] tags rather than blackboxes.
- Redact, then compress. Order matters — compressing first can rasterize text, which makes redaction harder to verify.
- For high-stakes redactions (litigation, regulatory filings), have a colleague verify the output independently before sending.
Redact your PDF.
No install, no signup wall, no watermark on paid plans.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone recover redacted text?
Not from a properly redacted PDF — the text is removed from the underlying document, not just covered. Black-box overlays in basic editors can be moved aside; real redactions can't.
Does redaction work on scanned PDFs?
Yes — redacting a scan blacks out the image region. Run OCR before sharing if the PDF needs to be searchable, then redact the OCR'd text.
Is this OK for HIPAA / GDPR compliance?
Real redaction removes the underlying data, which satisfies the technical bar for HIPAA and GDPR. You're still responsible for the broader compliance program (consent, breach notification, data retention).
Can I redact text in multiple PDFs at once?
Pro and Business plans include batch processing. Free and Plus process one file at a time.
What about metadata and hidden text?
We strip standard PDF metadata (Author, Title, Comments) on save. For maximum safety, also remove document-level annotations and bookmarks before sharing.
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