About Redact PDF
Redact PDF blacks out the words you list and makes sure they are gone. Pages with matches are flattened to images, so the text under the black boxes no longer exists in the file, not even for copy-paste or search.
Use it before sharing contracts, court files or medical records: hide names, addresses, account numbers or anything a recipient should not see.
How to use Redact PDF
- Open your PDF.
- List the words or phrases to redact, one per line.
- Click Redact PDF and check the flattened pages in the result.
Real removal
Matched pages are rasterized, so hidden words cannot be recovered.
Clean pages stay clean
Untouched pages keep their selectable text.
Case-insensitive
Names and amounts match regardless of capitalization.
Why flattening matters
Many tools only draw a black box over the text. Anyone can select under the box, copy it, or delete the rectangle in an editor. Real redaction has to remove the text itself. This tool covers the matches, then rebuilds those pages as images at 150 DPI: the words underneath are no longer in the file. The trade-off is that redacted pages lose text selection, which is exactly the point.
Tips for better results
- List account numbers exactly as printed, including spaces.
- Redact before adding a watermark, so boxes stay on top.
- Double-check the result: search the output for each term before sending.
Questions and answers
Can the hidden text be recovered?
No. Redacted pages are flattened to images; the text is not in the file anymore.
Why did one match survive?
Text split across separate runs, like hyphenated names, may need its parts listed separately.
Does it work on scans?
Scanned text is pixels; OCR it first, or draw boxes by hand in an editor.