Home › PDF utility › Redact PDF
Redact PDF
Redact PDF blacks out the text you name — names, account numbers, identifiers — by locating every text run containing those terms and painting over it, then flattening the pages to images so the redacted text cannot be selected, copied or recovered later.
How to use Redact PDF
- Upload the PDF that contains the sensitive text (it needs a text layer).
- List the exact strings to remove, comma separated, for example: John Smith, 4111 1111.
- Run the tool; matching runs are blacked out and the pages are flattened, then download the redacted file.
Where Redact PDF is useful
- Removing personal data before publishing a document.
- Preparing a redacted exhibit for a disclosure or freedom-of-information request.
- Sharing a statement with identifiers and balances partly hidden.
Formats, algorithms and limits
Matching is case-insensitive and applied per text run, so an item containing your term is blacked out whole, which over-redacts rather than leaks. After drawing the boxes the page is re-rendered at 2× scale and embedded as an image, which destroys the original text layer — the property that separates real redaction from a black rectangle drawn on top of selectable text.
Troubleshooting and honest limits
- Check the output by trying to select text in the redacted area — flattened pages have no text to copy.
- Searches 'John' will also black out 'Johnson'; use longer, more specific strings for precision.
- Scanned documents have no text layer to match, so draw boxes manually in Edit PDF and then flatten the file.
Frequently asked questions
Is the underlying text really gone?
Yes. The redacted pages are rebuilt as images, so the text that was blacked out is no longer present in the file as characters — it cannot be selected, searched or copied.
Why did nothing get redacted?
The terms did not match any text run. Check the spelling, use a shorter fragment, or confirm the PDF has a text layer (scans do not).
Does it redact part of a word or the whole run?
The whole text run containing the match is blacked out, which errs on the side of removing more rather than leaving a partial identifier visible.
Will the output still be searchable?
No. Flattening removes the text layer from the redacted pages, so the document becomes an image-based PDF. That is the trade-off for guaranteed removal.
Related tools
Page written and reviewed by the FreeConvertio engineering team on 2026-10-14. Redact PDF runs entirely in your browser — no uploads, no account and no daily limits.