Redact PDF
Drop a PDF, draw boxes over what to hide, and download a redacted copy. The page is flattened to an image so the hidden text is genuinely removed — not just covered by a box that can be deleted.
Drop a PDF here or click to browse
Redacted on your device — never uploaded
Real redaction is not drawing a black rectangle. The most common and dangerous mistake in PDF redaction is placing a black box over text and saving — the text is still there underneath, and anyone can select, copy or delete the box to reveal it. This tool does it properly: the pages you redact are rendered to an image with the marked areas painted out, then rebuilt as a PDF. The hidden content is gone, because the text layer is gone with it. The honest trade-off is that redacted pages become images — no longer selectable or searchable. That is the price of the redaction being real.
Features
- Draw redaction boxes anywhere on any page
- Redacted pages are flattened to an image — hidden text is truly removed
- The rest of the document is left as-is
- Clear warning about what redaction does to the page
- Nothing uploaded
- Free, no signup
How to use the Redact PDF
- Drop your PDF.
- On each page that needs it, drag to draw black boxes over sensitive content.
- Review carefully — check nothing sensitive is left visible.
- Download. Redacted pages are now images with the content gone.
Why use this tool
Because the usual way people redact PDFs — a black box in a PDF editor — leaves the text sitting underneath, and that has leaked real secrets in real court filings.
Frequently asked questions
Why do redacted pages become images?
Because that is what makes the redaction real. To remove text permanently, the page is rendered to a picture with the sensitive areas painted over, and the original text layer — including anything under your boxes — is discarded. A redacted page can no longer be selected or searched, which is the visible sign that the hidden text is genuinely gone rather than merely covered.
Is this safer than a black box in my PDF editor?
Substantially. A black box drawn in most editors sits on top of the text, which remains in the file and can be copied or revealed by deleting the box. Government agencies and law firms have leaked sensitive information exactly this way. Flattening to an image removes the underlying text, so there is nothing left to uncover.
Does my file or password get uploaded?
Neither. The PDF and any password you type are handled entirely inside your browser tab by qpdf compiled to WebAssembly. Nothing is sent over the network — you can confirm this in your browser's Network tab, where the engine loads once and then nothing uploads. For a password-protected bank statement or ID document, this is the whole point: the one file you must never hand to a website is exactly the kind these tools handle without one.
Can the quality be kept high?
Yes — redacted pages are rendered at a high resolution so text elsewhere on the page stays sharp in print. Very large documents will grow in file size because image pages are heavier than text pages; that is expected.