Permanently Redact PDF — Truly Remove Text, Not Just Cover It
Most people do not realise that drawing a black box over text in a PDF does not redact it — the underlying text data remains in the file and can be selected, copied, or extracted by anyone.
Start Redacting for Free →Why 'Covering' Text Is Not the Same as Redacting It
Most people do not realise that drawing a black box over text in a PDF does not redact it — the underlying text data remains in the file and can be selected, copied, or extracted by anyone. Permanent redaction requires deleting the text from the PDF file structure itself. Our free tool does exactly that — your redacted information is gone, permanently, with no possibility of recovery.
- Adding a black rectangle in a PDF editor only adds a visual layer — the text underneath is still present in the file
- Anyone can uncover 'redacted' text by removing the overlay layer, selecting and copying it, or using a PDF inspector
- Permanent redaction deletes the actual text bytes from the PDF file structure — the content is gone
- Courts, government agencies, and regulated industries all require permanent redaction, not visual covering
How to Redact — 3 Simple Steps
Open Your PDF
Select your PDF. It loads in your browser — never uploaded.
Mark Redactions
Draw boxes over sensitive content or use Search & Redact. Marks are applied as redaction annotations, not visual overlays.
Apply and Download
Click download. Our tool permanently deletes all marked text from the file structure. The redacted content is gone — not covered, deleted.
Key Features
🔒 Your Files Never Leave Your Device
Unlike tools that upload your PDFs to remote servers, our tool processes everything locally in your browser using WebAssembly. No server ever sees your documents — not even us. This makes it one of the most private PDF tools available, completely free.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from drawing a black box in Preview or Word?
Drawing a box in Preview or Word creates a visual overlay — the text underneath still exists in the file and can be copied or revealed. Our tool permanently deletes the text from the PDF's file structure.
Can the redacted content ever be recovered?
No — Our tool permanently removes the text data from the file structure. There is no layer to remove, no undo, no forensic recovery possible.
How can I verify the redaction is permanent?
After downloading, try selecting text in the redacted areas in Adobe Reader or Preview — you will find nothing to select. You can also verify in Chrome's built-in PDF viewer.
Does this work on image-based (scanned) PDFs?
Yes — for scanned PDFs, we replace the image region with a black box permanently burned into the image layer. The original pixel data in the redacted area is gone.
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