Is this 'true' redaction or just a black overlay?

True redaction. Instead of drawing a black rectangle on top of text (which can be removed), we convert every page to a rasterised image and paint the black area directly over the pixel data. The resulting PDF has no text layer at all — no text anywhere in the document can be selected, copied, or extracted with any tool.

How can I verify the redaction worked?

Open the downloaded PDF in any viewer (Adobe Acrobat, Chrome, Preview on Mac). Try clicking and dragging to select text — you won't be able to, because the entire document is image-based. Running it through any PDF text extractor returns nothing.

What's the trade-off of rasterising the PDF?

Because every page becomes an image, the PDF is no longer text-searchable and file size may be slightly larger. For documents that require redaction, this is the correct trade-off — it is the only way to guarantee text cannot be recovered.

Does my file get uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything happens inside your browser using PDF.js (to read and render the PDF) and pdf-lib (to create the output file). Your file never touches any server.

Will auto-detection catch everything sensitive?

Our patterns catch common formats — emails, phone numbers, SSNs, credit card numbers, and alphanumeric ID codes. No automated tool is perfect. Always review every page manually and draw boxes over anything sensitive that wasn't caught.

Privacy

True PDF Redaction

Draw boxes over sensitive text to permanently remove it — not just covered with a black rectangle, but truly gone from the file. Everything runs in your browser.

Runs entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded.

Drop your PDF here

PDF only · Processed in your browser — nothing is uploaded

or click to browse · max 50 MB

⚠️ Automated detection may miss items — review every page carefully before sharing. You are responsible for verifying all sensitive content is covered.

True PDF Redaction permanently destroys sensitive text by rasterising the redacted region — not just covering it — so the content is irreversibly removed from the file, all inside your browser with nothing uploaded.

Key facts

Permanently removes text (rasterises region — not a visual overlay)
Works on any PDF, including scanned documents
Draw redaction boxes freely on any page area
100% in-browser — your PDF never leaves your device
Free, no account or sign-up required
Always review every page carefully before sharing

Upload your PDF

Drop any PDF file. It is read entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.

Review auto-detected items

We scan for emails, phone numbers, SSNs, and ID-like patterns and pre-mark them as editable redaction boxes.

Draw extra boxes

Click and drag anywhere on the document to add boxes. Drag to move, drag corners to resize, ✕ to delete.

Redact & Download

Each page is converted to a flat image with black areas burned in. The resulting PDF has no text layer — nothing can be selected, copied, or extracted.

Frequently asked questions

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Key facts

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Frequently asked questions

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