Redact a PDF
Mark what must go, apply redaction, and download a PDF where the marked content no longer exists in the file.
Drop a PDF hereLet go to start
or paste with Ctrl/⌘+V
Start without an account. A free account includes 3 edited-document downloads a month. See plans
What it does
Redact PDF, explained
Redact PDF permanently removes content. Each marked area is replaced by a solid box, and the text, images and drawings under it are deleted from the file, so they can't be selected, copied, searched or recovered from the output.
Read more
This is different from Erase (whiteout) and Blackout, which only paint a box over the page and leave the original text underneath. Drawing a black rectangle in any editor is the most common way redactions fail. Use Redact whenever the hidden information could harm someone if recovered: Social Security numbers, patient names, bank details, or privileged passages in a document production.
How it works: when you apply redaction, each affected page is rebuilt as an image with the boxes burned in, which removes everything on that page that was under a box. Annotations, form fields and document metadata are stripped from the file. The result is then checked by extracting its text again to confirm the marked content is gone. Pages without marks are left as they were.
Applying redaction happens in PDFBetter's processing container. Your version history keeps the unredacted original for you, so a mistake can be undone; the redacted file you download or share does not contain it.
How to do it
Redact a PDF in 5 steps
1Sensitive text
2Mark what to remove
3Removed from the file
- 1
Open the PDF
Upload the file; it opens in the editor with Redact selected.
- 2
Mark content
Drag boxes over text, images or areas. Use Search to find every occurrence of a name or number and mark each one. Add an optional label such as “(b)(6)”.
- 3
Review the marks
Marks show as outlines until you apply them. Page through the document; anything not marked stays.
- 4
Apply redaction
Confirm to rebuild the affected pages. This step can't be reversed in the output.
- 5
Download or share
Download needs a free account; the Free plan includes 3 edited-document downloads a month.
Example
Before and after
A 9-page employee file with a Social Security number on page 1, a home address on page 3 and a bank account number on page 8, requested by a third party.
Those three pages are rebuilt with solid boxes where the data was; searching the output for the account number finds nothing. The other six pages are unchanged and still have selectable text.
Settings & formats
What you can control
- Redaction box
- Draw over any area: text, images, signatures, handwriting.
- Label
- Optional text shown on the box, such as an exemption code.
Input
Output
Good to know before you start
- Pages that contain a redaction become images, so their remaining text is no longer selectable or searchable; run OCR PDF afterwards if you need that.
- Redaction removes only what you mark. Repeated names or numbers elsewhere in the document stay unless you mark every occurrence.
- Form fields, comments and metadata are stripped from the redacted file, so it is no longer fillable.
- Content inside attachments embedded in the PDF is not inspected; remove attachments before sharing.
If something goes wrong
If something goes wrong
- The download button says to apply redactions first
- Export stops while redaction marks are unapplied, so a visual-only box can't slip out by accident. Apply redaction, then download.
- Text on a redacted page looks softer
- Affected pages are rebuilt as images. Text stays readable but is no longer vector-sharp; run OCR PDF if you need it searchable.
- I redacted the wrong area
- Restore the earlier version from version history, fix the marks and apply again. Any copy you already downloaded keeps the wrong redaction.
Redact PDF: questions people ask
What is the difference between redact and erase?
Erase and Blackout cover content visually; the original text is still in the file. Redact deletes the content under each box from the output, along with annotations, fields and metadata.
Can someone undo the redaction in the downloaded file?
No. The marked content is not in the file: affected pages are rebuilt as images with the boxes burned in, and the output is checked by re-extracting its text.
Does PDFBetter keep the unredacted original?
Yes, in your document's version history, so you can correct mistakes. Delete the document from your account if you don't want the original kept.
Can I redact a scanned document?
Yes. Draw boxes over the areas on the image; those pixels are replaced. Search only finds text in scans that have been through OCR.
Why did my fillable form stop being fillable?
Redaction strips form fields from the file, because field values are a common place for sensitive data to hide. Fill and flatten before redacting if you need the values visible.
Is this redaction acceptable for court filings?
It removes content from the file, which is what redaction rules generally require, but each court sets its own rules. Check the filing requirements; PDFBetter is not a law firm.