PDF Redaction Pro
Drawing a black box on a PDF does not remove anything — the text is still underneath and can be selected, copied or extracted. This rebuilds the pages so there is nothing left to recover. Free preview · Pro required to export. Mark up and redact the first 2 pages. Pro loads the whole document and downloads the redacted PDF.
Free preview · Pro required to export. Mark up and redact the first 2 pages. Pro loads the whole document and downloads the redacted PDF.
Why use this tool?
- The standard way of redacting a PDF leaves the text in the file. It has exposed witness names, settlement figures and client lists in real court filings, and it keeps happening because the file looks redacted.
- Redaction fails by omission more often than by a badly drawn box — a name appears eleven times and ten get covered.
- A document you are redacting is by definition one you cannot afford to upload.
How to use PDF Redaction
- Drop the PDF. Every page is rendered for marking up.
- Drag over anything that should go, or search for a name to cover every occurrence at once.
- Click any box to remove it.
- Press Redact and rebuild, then check the download: try to select the redacted text and there is nothing there.
Features
- True redaction — pages are rasterised with the boxes burned into the pixels
- Find and cover every occurrence of a phrase across all pages
- Manual boxes drawn with the mouse, removable with a click
- Adjustable output detail for printing
- Optional greyscale conversion
- The original text layer, fonts and metadata are not carried into the output
Tips
- Use the search first and the mouse second. It is the occurrences you did not think of that leak.
- A scanned document has no text layer to search, so everything must be covered by hand.
- If the recipient needs to search the result, run it through PDF OCR — that builds a text layer from what is still visible only.
Frequently asked questions
Is the text really removed?
Yes. Each page is rendered to a bitmap, the rectangles are painted onto the pixels, and a new PDF is built from those images. The original text layer is never copied into the output, so there is nothing left to recover.
What is the downside?
The result is a picture of a document: no longer selectable or searchable, and usually a larger file. For a document being sent out with something removed, that is the right trade.
Is my document uploaded?
No. It is rendered, redacted and rebuilt entirely in your browser.
Can I try this Pro tool without an account?
Yes. Mark up and redact the first 2 pages. Pro loads the whole document and downloads the redacted PDF. Your own input is processed locally in your browser.
Will upgrading keep my work?
Checkout and login open in a separate tab. Keep the workspace open to retain inputs, settings and previews. Files stay in that tab only; keep the originals in case you close or reload it. Export access is checked with the server after payment.
Your files are processed directly in your browser and are not uploaded to HubToolify's servers.