Redact PDF
Permanently remove sensitive content from PDF documents.
Overview
The Redact PDF tool permanently removes selected text, images, or areas from a PDF document. Unlike simply drawing a black rectangle over content, redaction physically deletes the underlying data so it cannot be recovered. This is essential for complying with privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPAA) and for releasing documents with classified or confidential information removed.
How to Use
- Navigate to Redact PDF from the Security & Optimization menu.
- Upload your file using drag-and-drop, Browse Files, or cloud storage (Dropbox / Google Drive).
- Select the content to redact by highlighting text or drawing redaction areas on pages.
- Optionally search for specific terms to redact across the entire document.
- Click Apply Redactions to process.
- Download the result when processing completes.
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Text search | Search for specific words or phrases to redact across all pages. |
| Area redaction | Draw rectangular regions on specific pages to redact all content within. |
| Redaction colour | Choose the fill colour for redacted areas (default: black). |
| Overlay text | Optionally place text on the redaction mark (e.g., "[REDACTED]"). |
Tips & Notes
Always verify the redacted output by attempting to select or search for the removed content. Proper redaction makes the content unrecoverable.
Redaction is irreversible. Always keep a copy of the original unredacted document in a secure location before applying redactions.
Related tools: Protect PDF · Flatten Annotations · Edit Metadata