Redact a PDF, actually delete the content
Mark what must disappear, apply, and it is gone: the text and pixels are removed from the file, not hidden under a rectangle. What you redact cannot be recovered from the output.
Drop your PDF here to start
to use Redact PDF (free, no account)
Files stay private: PDFs and images are edited in your browser.
Real redaction, not masking
The MuPDF engine applies redactions by deleting the underlying text and image data. Copy-paste, search and file inspection all come back empty.
Irreversible by design
Once applied, redacted content is gone from the file. That permanence is exactly what courts, auditors and FOIA officers require.
Runs in your browser
The most sensitive documents are precisely the ones you should not upload. Redaction happens locally on your device.
Marks in, content out
Mark what has to disappear, apply once, and the text and pixels are gone from the file itself.
Mark it, then apply
A mark is a pending instruction, not a black rectangle. Applying it deletes the text and image data underneath, so there is nothing left to copy out.
The dock keeps the queue
Every mark is listed with its page, so you can review the whole batch before taking the irreversible step.
Redactions
Verify it yourself
After applying, search the output for the removed terms. A proper redaction finds nothing.
The file remembers more than the page
Metadata, attachments and scripts survive a redaction. Sanitize strips them in the same session, before the document leaves your hands.
The black-rectangle mistake
Drawing a black box over text hides it on screen, but the text is still in the file, one copy-paste away. High-profile leaks have happened exactly this way.
True redaction removes the content from the document structure itself. After applying, the redacted text does not exist in the file anymore: not for selection, not for search, not for forensics.
A careful redaction workflow
Mark every occurrence, names, amounts, account numbers, then apply and download. Verify the output by trying to search for the removed terms: a proper redaction finds nothing.
Redact on a copy. The operation is permanent, so keep the original safely stored for your own records.
Done in three steps
Upload your PDF
Drop the file above, it is read locally in your browser, never uploaded to a server.
Use the tool
The editor opens with the right tool selected. Make your changes in a couple of clicks.
Download the result
Save the finished PDF straight to your device. No account, no watermark, no wait.
Frequently asked questions
Real redaction. Applying redactions deletes the underlying text and pixel data from the file, nothing remains to select, search or recover.
Not from the redacted file, the content is permanently removed. Always keep your original document untouched as a separate copy.
Yes. The whole process runs locally in your browser, so the unredacted original is never uploaded anywhere.