PDF Redactor (Black Out Sensitive Info)
Drag over the parts of a PDF you want to hide and fill them in black. On export every page is flattened into an image, so the text under the black boxes is gone for good and cannot be copied or recovered. Your file never leaves your device. To delete or reorder pages first, use the PDF Page Editor.
🔒 Runs in your browser · Your data is never sent to a server
You can also drag and drop a PDF file here
Pick a single .pdf file.
Choose what to black out
Drag over the page to add a redaction box. On a phone, draw with your finger (the page cannot be scrolled while your finger is on it).
Result
How to use
- Choose a PDF file.
- Drag over the preview to cover what you want to hide with black boxes. Use "Previous page" and "Next page" to move between pages.
- Pick an export quality and press "Redact and export".
- Download the result and check that the covered areas are unreadable before sharing it.
Please note
- Every page of the exported PDF becomes an image. Text under the black boxes is not kept, but text selection, search, copy, links, bookmarks and form fields are also lost.
- Some PDF viewers, such as Chrome and Edge, run OCR on image-only PDFs, so text outside the black boxes may still be copyable. The PDF itself contains no text data, and the text under the black boxes cannot be recovered.
- Only the areas you mark are covered. Make sure the boxes fully cover the text, and always check the exported PDF by eye.
- Password-protected PDFs cannot be processed.
- For very large pages, the export resolution may be lowered automatically because of browser limits.
Glossary
Redaction
Permanently removing personal or confidential information so it cannot be read. Simply placing a black shape over a PDF leaves the text underneath, which can still be copied.
Rasterizing (flattening to an image)
Converting a page into a grid of pixels. This tool rasterizes each page after the black boxes are applied, so the original data under them is not in the output.
dpi (resolution)
Dots per inch. A higher value makes text sharper but also makes the file larger.
FAQ
Can the redacted text be recovered later?
No. The black boxes are applied and then every page is converted to an image on export, so the original text data under them is not in the output PDF. This differs from simply drawing a black shape over a PDF.
Can I still select or search text in the redacted PDF?
No. Every page of the output is an image, so text anywhere on the page — not just the redacted parts — cannot be selected, searched or copied. Links, bookmarks and forms are lost too. However, viewers such as Chrome and Edge run OCR on image-only PDFs, so text outside the black boxes may still be copyable there. The PDF itself holds no text data, and the text under the black boxes cannot be recovered.
What should I check before sharing the file?
Open the exported PDF and confirm by eye that the text you wanted to hide is fully covered. Also check that no box stops short at the edge of a word and that you have not missed the same information on other pages.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Everything is processed in your browser and the file never leaves your device.
Share this page