Can someone copy or highlight text beneath the black redaction boxes?

No. This tool carries out true structural redaction. The underlying characters and text tokens are permanently scrubbed from the document code, making recovery impossible.

Does the redactor remove hidden author and document metadata?

Yes. When you redact the document, the tool clears hidden metadata including author names, timestamps, editing history, and embedded annotations.

Is this tool secure for medical charts and confidential contracts?

Yes. Processing takes place exclusively inside your browser via WebAssembly. Documents never leave your computer, satisfying HIPAA and GDPR privacy practices.

Can I redact scanned PDF pages and image receipts?

Yes. You can draw solid redaction boxes over any scanned visual elements, handwritten notes, account numbers, or photo areas across any page.

PDF Redactor

Permanently redact sensitive text, SSNs, and data from PDFs online. True client-side redaction with metadata removal and zero server uploads.

Select your file here to get started

or drop your file here.

.pdf

Max 50MB. 100% Private. Files never leave your device.

What to expect

Experience fast, secure, and completely private processing directly inside your web browser.

Irreversible Text Removal

Scrubbed text is permanently deleted from the PDF code, not just covered up.

Complete Metadata Scrub

Purge hidden author details, timestamps, and revision histories automatically.

Zero Server Transmission

Legal filings, financial ledgers, and health forms never leave your local device.

How it works

Simply upload your content, adjust your settings, and download the result instantly.

Load PDF Document

Open your confidential contract, resume, or statement in the local browser editor.

Mark Redaction Areas

Drag redaction boxes over text, numbers, or images you want permanently deleted.

Export Sanitized PDF

Generate a clean PDF with scrubbed text tokens and wiped metadata headers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get quick answers about supported formats, data privacy, and using this tool.

PDF Redactor - Permanently redact sensitive text, SSNs, and data from PDFs online. True client-side redaction with metadata removal and zero server uploads.

About This Tool

Black out confidential text, Social Security numbers, bank account details, and private contact info with true structural PDF redaction. Drawing a simple black box in standard word processors or basic PDF viewers only obscures content visually, leaving underlying text selectable, searchable, and easily extracted by anyone. Our redactor permanently strips the underlying text layer and replaces it with solid vector shapes. Designed for legal discovery, medical record sanitization under HIPAA guidelines, HR hiring reviews, and public records disclosure, this tool runs entirely client-side using WebAssembly. Contracts, court filings, and patient charts stay inside your browser memory and never upload to a third-party server, eliminating compliance breaches. In addition to blacking out visible paragraphs, the tool purges invisible document metadata, editing histories, annotations, and hidden comments that could inadvertently leak author names, software revisions, or creation dates. Export clean, sanitized PDFs ready for public distribution or legal submission.

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100% Open Source & Trustworthy

Every tool on PrivateTools is fully open source and runs entirely in your browser. No server uploads. No tracking. No hidden code. You can verify the source code yourself on GitHub at any time.

Open Source Code

Full source code available on GitHub — inspect, fork, or contribute.

Verify & Audit

Read every line of code. Nothing is hidden. Total transparency.

Browser-Local Processing

Files never leave your device. Zero server uploads. 100% private.

Community & Support

PrivateTools is built by the community, for the community. Found a bug? Have a tool idea? Want to report an issue? We'd love to hear from you. Every contribution makes these tools better for everyone.