A PDF redactor covers sensitive content with solid black rectangles — the standard method for hiding personal information, confidential data, or classified sections before sharing a document. Upload your PDF, draw boxes directly on the page preview, or search for text to auto-redact all occurrences.
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How to Redact a PDF
PDF redaction covers sensitive areas of document pages with solid black rectangles — used for hiding Social Security numbers, bank account details, medical record IDs, home addresses, or any other information that shouldn't be visible in the shared version. This interactive tool lets you draw directly on a rendered preview of each page or search for text to automatically redact all occurrences.
Step 1: Upload Your PDF
Click the upload area or drag and drop a PDF file. The PDF is rendered page-by-page in your browser using PDF.js. Nothing is sent to any server — all processing happens locally on your device.
Step 2: Draw Redaction Boxes
With "Draw Box" mode active (the default), click and drag on the page preview to draw a redaction box over any area you want to hide. The box appears with a red dashed outline while drawing, then fills with a solid black overlay when you release. Use the Undo button to remove the last redaction if you make a mistake. For multi-page PDFs, navigate between pages with Previous/Next buttons — redactions on each page are preserved as you switch.
Step 3: Search Text to Auto-Redact
Click "Text Search" to open the search panel. Type the text you want to redact (such as a name, SSN, or address), optionally enable "Match case", then click "Find & Redact All". The tool searches the PDF's text layer across all pages and adds redaction boxes over every occurrence. The search results show how many matches were found across how many pages.
Step 4: Download Redacted PDF
Once you've added all redaction boxes, click "Download Redacted PDF". Pages with redactions are rendered to high-resolution images (216 DPI) with the black boxes baked in — the original text underneath is permanently removed and cannot be recovered, even with PDF forensics tools. Pages without redactions are preserved as-is with full text selectability.
FAQ
Is this PDF redaction tool free?
Yes, completely free with no signup or account required. Upload a PDF, draw redaction boxes on the page preview, and download the result instantly.
Does my PDF get uploaded to a server?
No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using PDF.js and pdf-lib. Your file never leaves your device — redaction is 100% private and offline.
How do I draw a redaction box?
With 'Draw Box' mode active, click and drag directly on the PDF page preview to draw a box over any area. The selection appears as a red dashed outline while drawing, then becomes a solid black overlay when you release. Use the Undo button to remove the last box.
Can I search for text and redact all occurrences at once?
Yes. Click 'Text Search' in the toolbar, type the text you want to redact (such as a name, SSN, or email address), and click 'Find & Redact All'. The tool scans every page in the PDF and adds redaction boxes over every occurrence it finds.
Is the redacted content permanently removed?
Yes. Pages with redactions are flattened to high-resolution images (216 DPI print quality) with the black boxes baked in. The original text underneath is permanently destroyed and cannot be recovered, even with PDF forensics tools. Pages without redactions are kept as-is with full text selectability.
Can I redact multiple pages?
Yes. Use the Previous/Next buttons to navigate between pages. Redactions on each page are preserved as you switch. When you download, all redactions across all pages are applied simultaneously.
Can I undo a redaction?
Yes. The Undo button removes the last redaction added on the current page. Click it multiple times to undo multiple boxes.