Redact PDF
PDFMark what has to go and save: what is under each mark is taken out of the file, not just covered — on your device.
A black box drawn over a name does not remove the name. The words are still in the PDF underneath, where anyone can select and copy them or read them out of the file — which is how documents published as redacted keep turning out not to be. Redacting means taking out what is under the box. Drop the PDF in and it opens ready to do that: drag across words to mark them (whole words are taken), or choose Mark area and drag a box over anything — a signature, a photo, a logo, part of a scanned page. Find and mark puts a mark on every match of a word or a number on every page, and three buttons mark every email address, phone number or web address at once. Those searches are loose on purpose, so they find too much rather than too little: look over the marks before you save.
When you save, the letters under each mark are taken out of the file one by one, and the rest of the line stays text, in its place and searchable. The pixels of a picture under a mark are blanked, drawings inside it are removed, and so are comments, links and form fields that touch it. The places that can repeat the words — the document's properties and metadata, attachments, scripts and the tag tree — are cleared too, unless you untick it. Then the saved file is read again, and if a single letter is still found under a mark, nothing is handed back. A black box shows where each thing was. All of it happens in your browser: the document you are redacting is the last thing that should go to someone else's server.
Why do it here
100% private
Your PDF files are processed locally and never uploaded.
Instant
No upload or download wait — it runs at the speed of your device.
Free to start
Use it free every day; go Pro for unlimited runs.
No install
Works in any modern browser. No sign-up to begin.
How it works
- 1Drop your PDF
It opens in Redact mode, in your browser — nothing is uploaded. A PDF with a password asks for it here, on your device.
- 2Mark what has to go
Drag across words with Mark text, or a box over anything with Mark area. Find and mark finds a word or number, or every email address, phone number and web address.
- 3Save the redacted PDF
What is under the marks is taken out, the file is read again to check, and the copy is saved with -redacted in its name. Keep your original.
Frequently asked questions
Is the text really gone, or just covered?
Gone. The letters under a mark are removed from the file itself, not hidden behind the black box, and a picture's pixels under a mark are blanked in the picture. After saving, the file is read again; if any letter is still found under a mark, the save fails and nothing is handed back. You can check it yourself: open the saved copy, search for a word you redacted, or copy and paste across the black box.
What happens to the rest of the line?
It stays as it was. Only the letters under the mark go; the others keep their place and are still text, so the rest of the page can be searched and copied. Where the PDF stores a line in a way that cannot be split safely, the whole line under the mark is removed instead, and the summary after saving says how many lines that was.
Can I redact a scanned PDF?
Yes, with Mark area. A scanned page is a picture, and the picture's pixels under the box are blanked. Find and mark searches the text in the PDF, and a scan has none, so on a scanned page mark each place by hand.
What does “Also remove hidden information” take out?
The document's properties (title, author, subject and the rest), its XMP metadata, actions and JavaScript that run when it opens, attached files, and the tag tree screen readers use. Any of them can repeat the words you redact, so it is ticked to begin with. Untick it only if you know none of them holds what you are taking out.
Can a redaction be undone?
Before you save, yes: every mark can be moved, removed or undone. In the saved copy, no — what was under the marks is no longer in the file, which is the point. That is why the copy is saved under a new name, ending in -redacted, and why you should keep the original somewhere safe.
What about a digitally signed PDF?
You can redact it, but any change to a signed PDF breaks its signature, and the editor tells you so before you start. Redact first and sign afterwards.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. It is opened, marked, redacted and checked in your own browser, and the redacted copy is saved straight to your device. Marking costs nothing; saving the redacted copy counts as one of the day's free runs.