The fastest way: free online PDF redaction
To redact a PDF, open the Redact PDF tool, drop in your document, draw black boxes over anything sensitive, and build the redacted file. No signup — everything happens in your browser.
Step by step
- Open the Redact PDF tool.
- Drop your PDF into the "Drop a PDF here" zone.
- For long documents, set Max pages to limit how many pages load.
- Click and drag on a page to draw a black box over any sensitive text.
- Drew a box in the wrong place? Undo last box removes your most recent box.
- Click Build redacted PDF and download the finished file.
Is the redaction permanent?
Yes. The tool rebuilds every page as an image with the black boxes burned in, so the covered text cannot be recovered from the output file. One trade-off to know: because pages become images, text in the redacted PDF is no longer selectable or searchable.
What should you redact?
- Names, signatures and ID numbers.
- Account numbers and financial details.
- Addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
- Anything a contract or privacy policy says must stay hidden.
Frequently asked questions
How do I black out text in a PDF for free?
Open the free Redact PDF tool, drop in your file, draw black boxes over the sensitive parts, and click Build redacted PDF to download. No signup needed.
Can someone remove the black boxes to see the text?
No. The boxes are burned into rebuilt page images — there is no hidden text layer underneath to recover.
Will my document still look the same?
Layout is preserved, but pages are re-rendered as images, so text is no longer selectable or searchable in the output.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. Redaction works on the rendered page, so scanned and image-based PDFs redact just like text PDFs.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. Redaction happens entirely in your browser — your document never leaves your device.
Try it now
Ready? Redact your PDF free — no signup, private in-browser processing.