A PDF redactor permanently removes sensitive text, images, and data from a PDF file. This tool lets you draw black boxes over any content to redact. Unlike simply covering text with a black shape (which only hides content visually), true redaction removes the data from the PDF's underlying text layer so it cannot be recovered or extracted.

No, absolutely not. Your file never leaves your device. All processing happens entirely in your browser using PDF.js for rendering and pdf-lib for creating the redacted output. There is no server upload, no cloud storage, and no data transmission. Close the tab and your file is gone.

Visual covering — placing a black shape over text in Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word — only hides content on the screen. The underlying text data remains in the file and can be extracted by copying, selecting, or parsing the PDF. True PDF redaction removes text from the data layer so it cannot be recovered by any means.

Any visible content on PDF pages: text, images, signatures, rubber stamps, handwriting, and annotations. Draw a selection box over the area you want removed, confirm the redaction, and that region is replaced with a solid opaque black rectangle. The underlying data is permanently erased.

Yes. You can remove redactions at any point before downloading the file. Once you download the redacted PDF the changes are permanent and cannot be reversed. Always keep a backup copy of your original file before redacting.

Standard PDF files (PDF 1.0–2.0 specification). Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked before processing. Very large files (200+ pages, 50+ MB) may process slowly on lower-end devices. Scanned PDFs work for visual redaction, but the tool does not perform OCR — text in scanned images is treated as image pixels.

Yes. True redaction (removing data from the text layer) is compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, and legal discovery requirements. Since all processing is local (no server), your files never leave your control. Verify your organization's specific document handling policies independently.

Slightly. Redacted areas become opaque black rectangles and the underlying text streams are removed from the PDF's data layer. The output file size may be marginally smaller or slightly larger depending on the amount of content redacted and the original file structure.

You can redact one file at a time with this tool. For batch processing multiple files, redact them sequentially or write a script using pdf-lib library to automate the process locally on your device.

Yes, completely free. One of 52 free tools available at jasperbernaers.com. No account, no signup, no watermarks, no file size limits — unlimited PDF redaction online completely free.