About redaction
Drawing a black rectangle over text in most editors only covers it: the words are still in the file and can be copied out or revealed by deleting the box. Real redaction removes them. This tool redraws every affected page as an image, with your black boxes burned in, so the text underneath no longer exists in the file. It also removes the document's metadata, such as author name and editing software, which can give away more than you intend. Search terms find every match of a word or phrase, which is much safer than hunting by eye; add variations such as initials or numbers written with and without spaces. The find-and-redact options look for common personal details by their pattern: e-mail addresses, UK and international phone numbers, payment card numbers (checked with the card-number check digit, so other long numbers are left alone), UK National Insurance numbers, UK postcodes and IBANs (checked with their check digits). The search runs on your device, and the number of matches for each is shown before you start. Patterns cannot catch everything, such as a number split across lines in an unusual way, so still read the result. Whole pages you list are replaced by plain black pages. Because affected pages become images, their remaining text can no longer be selected or searched, and the file may grow a little. Pages without marks are left as they are. Check the result carefully before sharing: redaction cannot be undone in the saved file, which is the point. For legal or regulated disclosures, have a second person review the output.
Limits: one PDF per task, up to 25 MB with a free account, 200 MB on Pro and 500 MB on Business. Browser tools have no daily task limit.
Before you sign in, files can be up to 25 MB. A free account raises this to 25 MB.
Privacy: this tool runs entirely in your browser; the file never leaves your device. Nothing is uploaded, so the information you are removing is never sent to us.
How to use the PDF tools: Step-by-step help with every tool, limits and your files.
Redact PDF: frequently asked questions
Is the redacted text really gone?
Yes. Pages with redactions are redrawn as images with the black boxes burned in, so the text underneath is no longer in the file.
Why can I no longer select text on some pages?
Those pages were redrawn as images to remove the redacted text. Run OCR PDF on the result if you need searchable text again.
Does redaction remove hidden information too?
Yes. Metadata such as author and software details is removed. To clear metadata without redacting, use Remove metadata.
Can I undo a redaction?
Not in the redacted file. Keep your original if you might need the full text later.
Can it find e-mail addresses and phone numbers for me?
Yes. Tick E-mail addresses, Phone numbers, Payment card numbers, UK National Insurance numbers, UK postcodes or IBANs, and every match is blacked out along with any words you typed. You see how many were found before you press Redact.