How to use it
- Choose your PDF. Every page is shown below the controls.
- Type a word or number in Find text and press Black out every match. Repeat for each thing you want hidden.
- Drag on a page to draw extra boxes, for example over a signature, a photo or text in a scanned page. Press × on a box to remove it.
- Press Redact and check. The tool builds the new file, then reads it back to confirm the text is gone.
- Download the file and look through it once more before you share it.
Why most "redactions" fail
Drawing a black rectangle over text in a PDF editor usually just adds a shape on top. The words are still in the file: anyone can select them, copy them, or search for them, even though the page looks blacked out.
This tool does it differently. Every page that has a box is turned into an image with the boxes burned in, so there is no text layer left on that page to recover. Pages without boxes are copied as they are.
Limits
- Redacted pages become images. Text on those pages can no longer be selected or searched, including the parts you didn't black out.
- Search finds text, not pictures of text. In a scanned document the words are part of an image, so search can't find them. Draw boxes by hand.
- Box placement for search matches is estimated from the font's character widths. Check each box covers the whole word and draw a bigger one if needed.
- Password-protected PDFs need the password removed first, in the app that made them.
Questions
How do I know the text is really gone?
After redacting, the tool opens the new file and extracts all its text. It confirms that no text is left on the pages you redacted and that the words you searched for appear nowhere in the file. You can also check yourself: open the file and try to select or search for a redacted word.
Does it remove hidden information too?
It clears the document's title, author and software details. Pages you didn't redact are copied with their content, including any links or comments on them. If a page has something you're unsure about, draw a box anywhere on it and that whole page becomes an image.
Will the file look different?
Redacted pages are saved as high-quality images at 200 dpi, so they look almost the same but the file may get bigger. Use Shrink a PDF afterwards if you need it smaller.
Is this legally sufficient for court filings?
The tool removes the content, but rules about what must be redacted, and how it must be marked, depend on your court or organization. Check their rules. This isn't legal advice.
Last updated 2026-10-23.