Why Proper Redaction Matters
Many people cover sensitive text by drawing a black rectangle over it in a drawing tool or word processor and exporting to PDF. The problem: the underlying text is often still present in the PDF's text layer. Anyone can select the 'covered' area, copy it, and read the original content. True redaction must remove the data entirely — not just hide it visually.
How to Redact a PDF Properly
Our Redact PDF tool permanently removes the content beneath each redaction box — it doesn't just draw a black rectangle over it:
- Open the Redact tool and load your PDF
- Click and drag to draw redaction boxes over any text, numbers, or images you want to remove
- Review your selections — overlapping boxes are fine for dense areas
- Click Apply Redactions to permanently remove the content
- Download the redacted PDF — the data under each box is gone
What Gets Removed?
When you apply redactions, the text content beneath each box is removed from the PDF's text stream. The visual representation (the black rectangle) remains. Images under redaction boxes are also covered. The resulting PDF cannot be searched or copied for the redacted content.
Redacting Metadata Too
Text content isn't the only sensitive data in a PDF. Metadata fields (author name, company name, keywords, document title) can also reveal identifying information. After redacting your document content, use the Edit Metadata tool to clear any sensitive properties before sharing the file publicly.
Common Redaction Use Cases
Redaction is used whenever you need to share a document publicly or with parties who shouldn't see certain parts:
- Legal documents: redact client names, case numbers, and personal identifiers before disclosing to opposing counsel
- Financial records: remove account numbers, routing numbers, and personal financial data
- HR documents: redact salary information, SSNs, and personal addresses when sharing internally
- FOIA responses: government agencies are legally required to redact exempt information before releasing public records
- Academic publishing: remove identifying information from manuscripts during blind peer review
Redaction vs. Whiteout
A 'whiteout' approach (covering text with a white rectangle or white annotation) is not redaction — it's just visual concealment. The original text is still in the file. Our Redact tool replaces the content rather than covering it, making it suitable for legal, compliance, and privacy use cases.