This tool permanently removes sensitive information from a PDF, an Aadhaar or Social Security number, an account number, a name, by drawing black boxes over it and then converting the affected page into a flattened image. That last step is the part that actually matters: the underlying text is destroyed, not just visually covered, so it can't be recovered by selecting, copying, or searching the file afterward.
A lot of "redaction" tools online just draw a black rectangle on top of the text while leaving the original text sitting underneath it in the PDF's data, trivially recoverable by anyone who selects the "blacked-out" area or runs a text search. This tool avoids that entirely by re-rendering any page with a redaction box as a picture of that page with the box burned in, so there's no text layer left to extract at all.
The tradeoff, which the tool is upfront about: any page containing a redaction box becomes an image, so text elsewhere on that same page also stops being selectable or searchable, an unavoidable consequence of making the redaction genuinely permanent. Pages with no redaction boxes are left completely untouched, keeping their original selectable text. Everything runs in your browser, so a document containing something as sensitive as a government ID number is never uploaded anywhere in the process.
This matters a great deal for documents shared in India specifically, where an Aadhaar number is routinely printed on bank forms, rental agreements, and ID copies people are asked to share, and where a black box that merely sits on top of the number in a normal PDF editor is not real redaction, since the digits are still sitting in the file's text layer underneath, extractable in seconds by anyone who knows to try. The same applies to a Social Security number, a passport number, or an account number on any document you need to share more widely than the original was intended for.
How to Redact PDF
- Upload the PDF containing sensitive information.
- Switch to "Draw" mode and drag boxes over each area you want to redact.
- Switch to "Select" mode to adjust or remove a box if needed.
- Tap "Redact & Save", affected pages are rasterized and the file downloads.
Frequently asked questions
Is the redacted text actually gone, or just covered by a black box?
Actually gone. Any page with a redaction box is converted into a flattened image, which destroys the underlying text rather than just visually hiding it.
Can I use this to redact an Aadhaar number or SSN safely?
Yes. Draw a box over the number, and once exported, that page becomes an image with the number genuinely destroyed, not recoverable by copying or searching.
Will other text on the same page still be selectable?
No. Because the whole page is converted to an image to guarantee the redacted text is destroyed, the rest of that page's text also stops being selectable. Other pages without redaction boxes are unaffected.
Is my document uploaded to redact it?
No, the entire process, drawing boxes, rendering, rasterizing, happens in your browser, so your file never leaves your device.
How can I be sure the text is really gone?
Try searching the exported PDF for the redacted text yourself, since the page is now an image, there's no text there to find.
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