Redact PDF – Remove Sensitive Content
Draw black boxes over anything private and remove it for real. Redaction runs in your browser, so your document is never uploaded.
- ✓Files never uploaded
- ✓No file limits
- ✓No sign-up
- ✓No watermark
How to Redact PDF
- 1Drop your PDF into the box or click to choose it.
- 2Drag black boxes over every name, number or image that must disappear.
- 3Check each page, then click Redact PDF.
- 4Download the redacted file and share it.
Why pdfdots?
Private by design
All processing happens locally in your browser. Your documents are never uploaded to a server, so nobody else can see them.
No limits
No daily task caps, no file-count limits and no premium tier. Process as many PDFs as your device can handle.
Fast
There's no upload or download queue. Work starts the moment you drop a file and finishes at the speed of your own computer.
Works everywhere
Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android or Chromebook — if it has a modern browser, pdfdots runs on it. Nothing to install.
Redaction that actually removes the text
A black rectangle is not a redaction. Many leaked documents were "blacked out" with a shape drawn on top of the text, and anyone could select the text under the box, copy it and paste it somewhere else. Real redaction means the hidden content is no longer in the file at all. That is how we built Redact PDF: you drag black boxes over names, account numbers, addresses, signatures or photos, and when you save, every page that has a box is flattened into a high-resolution image with the black areas burned in. The text under the boxes is gone, not merely covered.
Pages without boxes are left untouched, so their text stays selectable and searchable and the file does not grow more than necessary. The honest downside is that redacted pages lose their selectable text entirely, including the parts you did not black out. If you need that text to stay searchable, you can run OCR PDF on the result afterwards.
Redaction runs entirely in your browser. The document is never uploaded, which is the whole point when the content is sensitive enough to hide. Before sharing, we recommend opening the result and trying to select text on a redacted page. You should find none. Also remember to check headers, footers and small print, where account numbers often hide.
Our take
We redact PDFs before sharing anything that contains more than the recipient needs: a bank statement with other transactions, an ID copy for a rental, a contract with salary figures, or a screenshot-heavy report with customer names.
We draw boxes generously, a little beyond the text, and check every page before saving. Only pages with boxes are flattened, so we sometimes extract the sensitive pages first to keep the rest of the document searchable and small.
The pitfall we see most often: someone draws a black rectangle in a regular editor and thinks the job is done, while the text is still underneath and can be copied out. That is exactly why we flatten redacted pages instead of just covering them.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded?+
No. Redaction runs entirely in your browser and the document never leaves your device.
Is the hidden text really removed?+
Yes. Every page with a box is flattened to a high-resolution image, so the text under the boxes no longer exists in the file.
Why not just draw a black rectangle?+
A drawn shape only covers the text. The text is still underneath and can be selected and copied. Flattening removes it.
What happens to pages without boxes?+
They stay exactly as they were, with selectable text and original quality.
Can I still search a redacted page?+
Not directly, because it becomes an image. Run OCR PDF on the result if you need searchable text again.
Is it free?+
Yes. No sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit.