The free Redact PDF tool permanently removes sensitive content from a document. Black out a name, an account number, or any region of the page, and the underlying text and content are genuinely deleted from the file, not merely covered with a black rectangle. Download the redacted PDF. The tool is free, adds no watermark, and needs no account.
This distinction is the whole point of real redaction, and it is where many tools quietly fail. A black box drawn on top of text hides it on screen but leaves the original text sitting in the file, where anyone can copy it out or extract it. This tool removes the content underneath the redaction, so what is hidden is actually gone.
How to Redact a PDF
- Upload your PDF. Select the file or drag it onto the upload area.
- Mark what to remove. Search for specific words to redact each occurrence the tool finds, or draw over the areas you want to black out.
- Redact. The tool removes the content under each mark and places a black box over it.
- Download. Save the redacted PDF.
Real Redaction, Not a Black Box
When this tool redacts a region, it deletes the text and content in that region and then draws the black box, so the box is a marker of what was removed rather than a cover over content that is still there. You can confirm it yourself: after redacting, the hidden text cannot be found by searching the file, selected, or copied out, because it no longer exists in the page content. That is the difference between hiding information and removing it, and for anything sensitive, removal is what matters. The tool works on the page content under your marks. Document properties such as the title and author, bookmarks, comments, form field values and attached files can remain in the file, so check them before you share it.
One important note on scanned documents. Searching for specific words to redact works on selectable text, and a word or number split across two lines at a hyphen can be missed, so look over the result. If your PDF is a scan without a text layer, it is an image with nothing to search, so use the area mode to draw over the regions you want removed instead.
What Happens to My File?
Your PDF is processed on our server. The uploaded file is deleted when processing ends, whether it succeeds or fails. The redacted result is stored in a folder with a random name, stays available to download for about two hours, and is then deleted automatically. Uploads and downloads use HTTPS.
When to Redact a PDF
- Removing personal data. Delete Social Security numbers, addresses, or account numbers before sharing.
- Preparing legal documents. Redact privileged or confidential passages from a document for disclosure.
- Sharing records. Remove patient or client details from a file you need to send.
- Publishing a document. Take out names or sensitive figures before a document goes public.
Related PDF Tools
To hide a document behind a password instead of removing content, lock a PDF. You can also remove whole pages or add a watermark.
