Redact PDF
Permanently black out and remove sensitive text or images from your PDF to keep your information private and secure.
How to Redact a PDF for Free
Permanently remove sensitive information from your documents in three easy steps.
Upload Your PDF
Select the PDF document you need to redact, or simply drag and drop your file directly into the editor.
Mark for Redaction
Draw boxes over the text or images you want to black out. You can also search for specific text to redact.
Download Your Redacted File
Click the "Redact PDF" button to permanently apply the changes and download your secure document.
Truly Permanent PDF Redaction
More Than Just a Black Box
When you redact a PDF with our tool, you aren't just covering up text. We permanently remove the underlying data from the document, ensuring that no one can ever recover the sensitive information. It's the most secure way to protect your content.
Secure and Confidential Process
Your privacy is our top priority. The entire redaction process happens securely in your browser. All files are automatically and permanently deleted from our servers after one hour, so you can redact pdf for free with total peace of mind.
Why Use Our Free PDF Redaction Tool?
The best online tool for permanently and securely removing sensitive data from your PDFs.
Permanent Data Removal
Unlike other tools, we fully remove the redacted information from your file, making it impossible to recover.
Easy to Use
Simply draw a box over any content you want to remove. It's the easiest way to redact pdf files online.
Completely Free
This is a redact pdf free service. There are no watermarks, subscriptions, or hidden costs involved.
Find & Redact Text
Search for specific words, names, or numbers within your document and redact all occurrences at once.
Guaranteed Privacy
We don't look at your files. All documents are automatically deleted from our servers one hour after processing.
No Installation Needed
Our entire tool works in your browser on any operating system. No need to download any software.
Secure Your Information: When to Redact a PDF
Redaction is essential for protecting sensitive data before sharing documents. Here are the most common uses.
Legal & Business Documents
Permanently remove confidential client information, trade secrets, and financial data from contracts or reports before sharing.
Compliance & Privacy
Comply with privacy regulations like GDPR and HIPAA by redacting personal identifiable information (PII) such as names, addresses, and social security numbers.
Personal Documents
Black out bank account numbers on financial statements, personal addresses on bills, or any other private data before sharing scans of your documents.
True Redaction: Not Just a Black Box
Simply covering text with a black shape in a basic editor is not secure—the original data often remains hidden in the file. Our tool ensures permanent removal.
1. Select Content to Remove
You draw a box over the text or image you want to hide. Our tool precisely identifies all the content within that area.
2. Permanent Data Deletion
When you apply the redactions, we don't just cover the content. We remove the underlying text, image data, and associated metadata from the PDF structure itself.
3. Secure Final File
The final downloaded PDF is completely sanitized. The redacted information is gone forever and cannot be recovered by anyone, ensuring total security.
The Power of Confidentiality
Properly redacting documents isn't just a feature; it's a critical practice that builds trust, protects privacy, and upholds professional standards.
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Build Trust with Clients: Show your clients and partners you take their privacy seriously by securely redacting sensitive information from shared documents.
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Mitigate Legal Risks: Proactively removing confidential data helps you comply with privacy laws and reduces the risk of costly data breaches and leaks.
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Ensure Secure Public Records: Prepare documents for public release or court filings by ensuring all legally required redactions are permanent and irreversible.
Avoid Common & Insecure Redaction Mistakes
Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's gone. Our tool helps you avoid these critical errors.
The Mistake: Drawing a Black Box Over Text
Using a simple PDF viewer or editor to draw a black rectangle over text is not secure. The original text often remains in the file, hidden underneath.
The Solution: Permanent Removal
Our tool doesn't just cover the data; it removes the underlying text and image information from the file, making it truly unrecoverable.
The Mistake: Changing Text Color to White
Changing the font color to match the background makes text invisible, but it's still there. Anyone can reveal it by simply selecting the text (Ctrl+A).
The Solution: Deleting the Text Data
Our redaction process deletes the text itself, not just its color. There is nothing left to select or copy.
The Mistake: Cropping Out Sensitive Information
Cropping a page to hide headers or footers can work, but it's imprecise and some PDF viewers can still access the data outside the cropped area.
The Solution: Targeted Area Redaction
Draw a precise redaction box over the exact information you want to remove, leaving the rest of the page layout perfectly intact and secure.
The Mistake: Forgetting Hidden Metadata
Sensitive information can be hidden in a PDF's metadata (like author, keywords, or comments) even if it's not visible on the page.
The Solution: A Sanitized Final File
Our redaction process creates a clean, sanitized PDF. By removing the selected content entirely, it also helps to remove associated metadata, ensuring a fully secure document.