Redact a PDF – really remove it
Names, amounts, account numbers: mark what has to go, and it is gone from the file. Your PDF stays in your browser.
Drop your file here or choose one
One PDF file · in your browser
Our Terms apply.
How it works
- Drop or choose a PDF. The file stays on your device.
- Mark what has to go: draw boxes, find a word, name or number with “Search and redact”, or choose patterns such as IBAN, email, phone numbers and dates.
- Check the list, redact and download the new PDF – or go straight on to protect, sign or compress it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser. The file never leaves your device. Your progress stays in this browser only and is removed after 7 days, at once with “Start over”.
Is the text really gone or just covered?
Really gone. A black box usually hides only the view; the text stays in the file and can be copied. Here the characters under the box are deleted, and the rest of the line stays in its place and font.
What happens to images, signatures and scans?
In images, the pixels under the box are blacked out in the image itself. Drawings inside a box, such as a signature drawn as lines, are removed. The invisible text layer of a scan, from text recognition, is removed under the box too.
What else is removed from the file?
The whole file is written new. Title, author and other metadata, attachments, document scripts, bookmarks and earlier saved versions inside the file do not come along. Comments and form fields are fixed into the page first and then redacted like the rest, so form fields are no longer fillable.
How do I know nothing is left?
After redacting, the written file is read back. The searched texts must not be found anywhere, and no character may be left inside a box. If the check finds something, nothing is saved and the page names the page concerned.
Can I undo it?
Not in the file: what is removed is gone. Your working copy keeps the version before, as with every step. Before you apply, every mark is listed and can be removed.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Tools that run in your browser are always free and need no account.
Related tools
Why Docuvoza
No account, no subscription, no document storage. Most tools run on your device; the rest in the EU, deleted after 60 minutes. Your working copy stays in this browser for up to 7 days, or until you choose Start over. And when someone has to sign: soon with Signovoza.
How the handover works →What “Redact PDF” is for
An application without salary details, an invoice for a third party, records for an authority, a document for court: often not everything in a document may go out. A black box in an ordinary program usually hides only the view; the text stays in the file and can be copied out. Here, whatever is under the box is removed.
Mark what has to go
- Draw boxes right on the page. On a phone, “Draw boxes” switches drawing on; otherwise a finger scrolls.
- Search and redact: a word, name or number, every occurrence on every page.
- Patterns: IBAN, email addresses, phone numbers and dates.
Every mark is listed and can be removed before you apply. The boxes are drawn in black or white, as you choose.
Removed, not covered
For text, the characters under the box are deleted; the rest of the line stays in its place and font. In images, the pixels under the box are blacked out in the image itself. Drawings inside a box, such as a signature drawn as lines, are removed, and so is the invisible text layer of a scan from text recognition. The whole file is written new, without metadata, attachments, document scripts, bookmarks or earlier saved versions. Comments and form fields are fixed into the page first and then redacted with the rest.
Checked before it is saved
Afterwards the written file is read back: the searched texts must not be found anywhere, and no character may be left inside a box. If the check finds something, nothing is saved and the page tells you which page. From here you usually go on to “Protect PDF”, “PDF to PDF/A”, “Sign PDF” or “Compress PDF”.
Limits
Text that is part of a picture, as in a scan without text recognition, is removed where the box covers the picture. The patterns find the usual formats, so check the list. And always look at the result before you send it.