Redact PDF Files on Your Device

Mark and Remove the Content

Clear boxes to keep values. Selected properties, dates, XMP and custom properties are removed.

Mark a rectangle around each detail you want removed. Text matching and automatic detection are unavailable. Repeated marks use the same page percentages, so review their position on every page.

A removable black annotation can leave the original text underneath. This tool replaces marked image pixels with opaque black before building a new PDF from those images. Original PDF objects are never copied.

For example, corners at 10%, 10% and 50%, 20% mark a region covering 40% of the page width and 10% of its height.

Every output page is an image, including unmarked pages. The copy loses searchable text and vector detail. Links, forms and digital signatures are discarded. Unmarked text remains visible in the images and can be read by OCR.

Check the Redacted PDF

The export checks every page for selectable text and checks that attachments are absent. These checks do not decide whether you marked every sensitive detail.

Open the downloaded copy in another PDF reader. Search for the removed words, try selecting across each black region and extract text. Extract the page images and inspect the black regions too.

Compare all pages with the original, including scanned pages and visible annotation appearances. The new copy discards attachments, optional hidden layers and annotation objects. Content visible in the rendered page remains unless marked.

Use the Browser Workflow

The browser processes your PDF locally without sign-up. This is a browser workflow on Mac or Windows and uses no desktop application menus.

Output is limited to four million pixels per page and 80 million pixels across the document. Choose 100 dpi if a page exceeds the limit. The maximum output is 80 MiB. You can add up to 400 marked regions.

A phone can run out of memory within these limits. Split a large PDF into smaller working copies if processing fails.

Lower resolution can reduce small-text clarity. Damaged files or unsupported rendering stop the export. Keep the original and use a specialist PDF editor when image-based output does not fit your task.

Preserve an Evidence Record

Download the region record with the redacted copy. It lists each marked page, position and size fractions and output resolution, with a fingerprint of the original file.

For a bank-statement working copy, suppose you mark an account number on page 2 from 10%, 10% to 50%, 20%. The region record identifies page 2 with position fractions x = 0.1 and y = 0.1, width = 0.4 and height = 0.1.

Keep that record with the original statement and the redacted copy. Compare the exported page with the original, inspect the marked account number and confirm that the remaining transactions are readable.

Keep the original unchanged and review the output before disclosure. Technical removal does not decide whether a redaction is legally permitted. The Harman undertaking guide explains restrictions on using obtained records.

Remove PDF Metadata From the Copy

The property list shows the standard document information found in your PDF. Leave a property selected to remove it, or clear its checkbox to retain that value.

The new document discards original XMP, custom properties and document dates. It also discards the original attachments and internal object history. Removing author or title properties does not remove visible names or every evidential trace.

Check the downloaded copy’s properties in your PDF reader. Keep the region record privately because it identifies the source file.