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Redact PDF Online Free — Files Never Leave Your Browser
Permanently redact text, images, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, bank details, and sensitive fields from any PDF. Draw boxes manually or use Search & Redact to find and remove all instances across every page — entirely in your browser, no upload, no watermark, no account.
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Privacy Note
PDF redaction runs entirely in your browser. No file data is sent to any server at any point. The exported PDF is rebuilt from rendered page images — the original text layer, annotations, form fields, comments, and document metadata are not carried into the output copy.
Website assets are served from hosting/CDN. Private file processing stays local in your browser.
- Redact account numbers, sort codes, and bank statement details before sending a PDF to an adviser or accountant.
- Remove patient names, diagnosis codes, and NHS or insurance numbers from medical PDF documents before sharing for review.
- Strip SSNs, date of birth, and addresses from legal or HR PDF files before external distribution.
- Redact API keys, tokens, or credentials visible in PDF reports or exported logs before sharing with third parties.
- Cover names, signatures, and internal rates in contracts or proposals before client circulation.
- Remove personal contact details from invoice PDFs, scanned forms, or ID copies before upload or archive.
- Use Search & Redact to find and cover every instance of a name or reference number across a multi-page document in one step.
- Auto-detect and redact all email addresses or phone numbers across a large document using PII pattern detection.
- Upload a PDF by dropping it onto the tool or choosing a file — up to 150 pages.
- Draw redaction boxes directly on the page preview, or type a word in Search & Redact and click Find & Redact All to cover every instance across all pages.
- Use the PII auto-detect buttons to find and redact SSNs, emails, phone numbers, or credit card numbers automatically.
- Choose Blackout, Whiteout, Pixelate, or Blur mode. Add a label like REDACTED or CONFIDENTIAL to blackout boxes if needed.
- Navigate through all pages using Previous and Next. Use Apply to all pages to repeat a header or footer redaction across every page.
- Click Download redacted PDF. The export rebuilds the PDF from rendered images — original text and metadata are permanently gone.
Redact a bank statement before sending to an adviser
Input
A PDF bank statement with full account number, sort code, and multiple transaction references visible. Output
A rebuilt PDF with sensitive references permanently blacked out, original text layer stripped, metadata cleared — safe to email. Search and redact a name across a 40-page contract
Input
A 40-page PDF contract where a client name appears on almost every page. Output
Every instance found and redacted in one step using Search & Redact, export rebuilt as rasterized pages without the searchable text layer. Auto-detect and remove SSNs from an HR document
Input
A multi-page HR PDF containing employee Social Security Numbers in various formats. Output
All SSN-pattern matches detected and redacted automatically using the SSN preset — no manual box drawing required. Prepare a legal document for external sharing
Input
A contract PDF with names, signatures, internal rates, and email addresses still visible. Output
A share-safe PDF with targeted blackout boxes over sensitive fields, original annotations and metadata stripped on export. - Use this tool when the source file is a PDF and the goal is to permanently hide visible content before sharing externally.
- Use Search & Redact when the same text, name, or reference number appears on multiple pages and you want to redact all instances at once.
- Use Screenshot Redactor instead when the source is a flat image or screenshot that does not need PDF output.
- Use Metadata Remover when you want to strip hidden EXIF or document metadata without adding visible redaction boxes.
- Encrypted or password-protected PDFs are not supported.
- PDFs above 150 pages are out of scope because secure rasterized export is memory-intensive.
- Search & Redact matches text items as rendered by PDF.js — it may not match text spanning multiple non-contiguous rendering elements.
- OCR for fully scanned image-only PDFs is not available in this release.
- Blackout is the safest mode for all sensitive content. Blur and pixelate are lighter visual treatments and should be reviewed before external sharing.
- Secure export rebuilds the PDF from rendered pages, so the final file prioritizes permanent redaction over editable or searchable text preservation.
- Whiteout fills with solid white — ideal for white-background documents and printed forms.
| Direction | Format | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input | ✓ Full | Standard non-encrypted PDFs up to 150 pages and 25 MB. | |
| Input | Encrypted / password-protected PDF | ◑ Partial | Not supported in this release — encrypted PDFs return an error. |
| Output | Rasterized PDF | ✓ Full | Export rebuilds the PDF from rendered page images. Original text layer, annotations, and metadata are not in the output. |
| Output | Searchable / editable PDF | ◑ Partial | Not preserved — the secure export path intentionally rasterizes all pages. |
Input formats: PDF
Output formats: PDF
FAQ
Does this tool upload my PDF?
No. Every step — loading, redacting, and exporting — runs entirely in your browser. No PDF data is ever sent to any server. Your file never leaves your device.
Is the redaction permanent? Can the hidden text be recovered?
Yes, the redaction is permanent. The export rebuilds the PDF entirely from rendered page images. The original searchable text layer, annotations, form fields, and comments are not included in the output copy — there is no hidden text to recover.
What is Search & Redact and how does it work?
Search & Redact extracts the text content from every page using PDF.js running locally in your browser. It finds every text element matching your search query and automatically adds a redaction box over each match. This works across all pages simultaneously, so you do not have to navigate page by page for repeated content.
Can I redact SSNs, email addresses, and phone numbers automatically?
Yes. The PII auto-detect buttons use pattern matching (regex) running entirely in your browser to find Social Security Numbers, email addresses, US phone numbers, and credit card numbers across all pages. Matches are added as redaction boxes for you to review before exporting.
Does the exported PDF still have searchable text?
No. The export path rasterizes every page to an image and rebuilds the PDF from those images. The original text layer is not preserved, making the output non-searchable. This is intentional — it ensures redacted content cannot be extracted by copying text from the PDF.
Is this tool HIPAA or GDPR compliant for document redaction?
Because no data is uploaded to any server, there is no third-party data processor involved. The redaction and export happen entirely on your device. This architecture avoids the server-side data handling requirements that HIPAA and GDPR impose for uploaded files. For regulated workflows, verify with your compliance team that a browser-local tool meets your specific requirements.