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Redact PDFs to remove sensitive info

Draw black boxes over sensitive text and images. The tool removes the underlying content, not just cover it — verified with a text-search pass.

Redaction has to be irreversible. Simply drawing a black rectangle in a PDF viewer doesn't remove the underlying text — anyone can copy through the box and see the redacted content. The Rankato Redactor draws the visual black box and removes the underlying text and image data from the PDF, so search and copy-paste return nothing. Preview the redacted document with search enabled to verify.

Visual + data redaction

Draw redaction rectangles on any page. Each rectangle: covers the region with a black (or custom color) box, deletes the underlying text glyphs from the PDF's content stream, and blanks the corresponding pixels in any embedded raster image. That's why the redaction is permanent — the source data is gone, not just hidden.

Search-and-redact

Type sensitive terms (SSNs, names, addresses) and the tool finds and redacts every occurrence across the document. Regex mode for structured data like phone numbers or credit cards. Always verify the results manually — a false-negative on a sensitive term is a real leak.

Verification pass

After redaction, the tool re-parses the output and reports: number of text runs removed, remaining text-run count, and any images that were partially blanked. Copy-paste out of the redacted PDF to confirm nothing sensitive comes through.

Tool FAQs

Everything you need to know about using Redact PDF.

Does my PDF get uploaded to a server?+

No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using pdf-lib and pdf.js loaded as WebAssembly. Open your browser's Network tab while processing and you'll see zero uploads — your PDFs never leave your device. That's why confidential contracts, tax records, and internal docs are safe to run through this tool.

Can redacted content be recovered?+

No — text glyphs and image pixels within the redaction box are deleted from the PDF. Even the original PDF creator can't recover it after redaction (short of using an original unredacted copy).

Can I process multiple PDFs at once?+

Yes — batch mode is available on the Pro plan. Free users process one file at a time. Pro unlocks unlimited concurrent PDF processing across every tool in the suite.