Redact PDF Online — Permanently Remove Text, Free
Cover names, addresses, account numbers, or signatures in a PDF and download a file where that content is genuinely gone. Redacted pages are flattened to an image, so nothing survives underneath the black boxes. The file never leaves your device — unlike Adobe Acrobat, redaction here is free and needs no account.
This is the part most people get wrong. Drawing a black rectangle in a PDF reader, or highlighting text in black, only paints over the words: the characters are still in the file and reappear the moment someone copies the text or opens the document in another editor. Newspapers and law firms have leaked information exactly this way. Flattening the page to an image removes the text layer altogether, which is why redacted pages here come back as pictures rather than selectable text.
Common ways to use it
- A contract going to a third party — hide the fees or the counterparty name before sending.
- A bank statement for a landlord or lender — cover the account number and unrelated transactions.
- A screenshot-heavy report — black out customer names and email addresses before publishing.
- An ID or a form — remove the parts a recipient has no reason to see.
Pages you do not touch are copied across untouched, so only the redacted pages lose their text layer. Need something else first? Unlock a password-protected PDF, remove whole pages, compress the result, or sign the document.
How to use Redact PDF
- Choose a PDF file. The first page opens in the preview.
- Drag across anything private — the area fills with a solid black box.
- Move between pages and cover as many areas as you need.
- Click "Redact & Download" to save a PDF with that content removed.
Features
- Real removal, not a black rectangle — Redacted pages are flattened, so the text underneath is deleted.
- Drag to redact — Cover any area with a box, on desktop or with your finger on a phone.
- Untouched pages stay untouched — Only pages you redact are flattened; the rest are copied as they were.
- Works on scans too — Because it works on the rendered page, scanned documents redact the same way.
- 100% browser-based — The PDF is never uploaded to any server.
- No sign-up, no watermarks, no limits — Completely free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the text really removed, or just covered?
Really removed. Each redacted page is rendered to an image and the black boxes are painted into that image, so the original text layer is not written to the new file. Copying from the finished PDF or opening it in an editor returns nothing for the redacted page.
Why does blacking out text in a PDF reader not work?
Because the annotation sits on top of the text rather than replacing it. The words are still stored in the file and come straight back with copy and paste, a text extractor, or another editor. That mistake has leaked contracts and court filings more than once.
Can I still select text in the finished PDF?
Not on redacted pages — they become images, which is what makes the removal safe. Pages you did not redact keep their original text and stay selectable and searchable.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is opened, rendered, and rewritten entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, which makes this safe for contracts, statements, medical records, and other confidential files.
Does redaction also remove document metadata?
The redacted pages are rebuilt as images, so text and annotations on them are gone, but document properties such as the title or author are not the target of this tool. If metadata matters, check it separately before sharing the file.
Can I redact a scanned PDF?
Yes. Scanned pages are images already, and redaction works on the rendered page, so drawing a box over a name or a number in a scan removes it exactly the same way.