Redact a PDF
Black out names, numbers and anything else, and have it removed from the file for good. Search, auto-detect, or draw boxes.
Drop your file here
or click to browse
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How it works
Black out names, numbers and anything else, and have it removed from the file for good. Search, auto-detect, or draw boxes.
Drop a PDF and its text is read on your device. Type a name, number or address and every copy on every page is boxed, ignoring case and spaces, so 98765 43210 matches 9876543210. Card, Aadhaar, Virtual ID, PAN and account numbers, phone numbers and emails are found for you; card, account and Aadhaar numbers keep their last 4 digits, the usual way to mask them. Drag on the page to cover anything else, such as a signature, photo or stamp, and tap any box to keep or delete it. Scanned pages with no text can be read with OCR first, so search works on them too. A black box drawn over a PDF in most editors only covers the text: it can still be selected, copied or found by search. Here, every page with a redaction is rebuilt as an image with the boxes burned in, inside a brand-new file, so the hidden content is gone, not hidden. The rest of the text on those pages stays searchable through an invisible text layer, pages without redactions are kept exactly as they were, and document properties such as the author and title are removed. Before you download, the saved file is read back to check that no readable text is left under any box. Everything runs in your browser; your PDF is never uploaded.
How to use it
- Drop your PDF. Personal details are found and boxed for you.
- Search and draw. Type names or numbers to redact everywhere; drag to cover anything else.
- Check the pages. Flip through, tap a box to keep or delete it, or See through to check coverage.
- Redact and download. The file is rebuilt, checked, and ready to share.
Frequently asked questions
- Can the redacted content be recovered?
- No. Pages with redactions are rebuilt as images with the boxes burned in, in a new file, so the text and images under each box are not in the file at all. The saved file is checked before you download it.
- How do I redact every mention of a name?
- Type the name in Find and redact and press Redact all. Every copy on every page is boxed; tap one to keep it if you need to.
- Does it find card, Aadhaar and PAN numbers automatically?
- Yes, along with account numbers, phone numbers and emails. Check the preview anyway, and draw boxes over anything it missed.
- Will the rest of the PDF still be searchable?
- Yes. Text outside the boxes stays searchable and copyable, and pages without redactions are not changed at all.
- Can I redact a scanned PDF?
- Yes. Draw boxes directly, or press Read the scanned pages to run OCR so search and auto-detection work too.
- Is my PDF uploaded?
- No. Reading, redacting and checking all happen in your browser.