A black drawing can hide words on screen while leaving them selectable underneath. Redact PDF instead rebuilds every page as an image with the masks applied. Verification still matters: the tool can only mask the phrase matches or rectangles you select.
1. Test with a fictional phrase
Open Redact PDF and choose Load sample. The word CONFIDENTIAL appears on all three pages and is prefilled as the search phrase. Run the tool and download the result. Each occurrence should now have a black mask; the remaining page content should remain readable.
The new file has no selectable text, including on pages without a mask. This is expected: the entire document is rebuilt, not just the selected regions.
2. Choose text search or rectangles
- Selectable text: enter the phrase to find. ASCII letter case is ignored, but a different spelling, punctuation or an image of the words may need a separate check.
- Scanned areas: clear the phrase field, open the relevant page in the preview, draw a rectangle around the detail and choose Add mask. Repeat on every relevant page.
- Mixed documents: check both kinds of content. A selectable name in a header can also appear as pixels in a scanned signature or attachment page.
Use enough margin around the full characters without covering neighboring content you need to keep. Cropping a page or adding an ordinary rectangle in Edit PDF is not the same operation.
3. Inspect the downloaded copy
- Open the exported PDF in a separate reader. Verify its page count and inspect every page, not only the preview.
- Zoom into each mask. Check edges for partial letters, digits and handwriting, then check repeated headers, footers and duplicate pages.
- Search for the removed phrase and try selecting or copying it. The absence of selectable text is expected for this output; it cannot prove that every visible occurrence was covered.
- Check the filename and the file you attach. Send the inspected copy and keep the original separate.
A reader with automatic OCR may recognize the remaining visible words even though this export has no text layer. If it recognizes sensitive words, inspect that area visually and correct the masks.
4. Recheck any later transformation
The rebuilt output discards the source text layer, links, forms, metadata and attachments. It does not preserve a digitally signed original. Keep the source separately if those features are needed.
If the recipient needs searchable text, run OCR on the redacted copy and inspect that new file again. Recheck after later editing or conversion, and use the final inspected file for sharing.
Hosted redaction uploads the document to our server for processing. Uploaded files are removed after each preview or tool run; save the result before leaving. Read file privacy or try the redaction sample.