How do I redact a PDF for free?
Open your PDF above, mark the text or areas to hide by searching, ticking a type of information or drawing boxes, then click Redact and download. It is free, with no signup and no watermark.
PDF Tools
Redact PDF
Permanently black out names, numbers and images in a PDF.
Stays in your browser: your files are never uploadedFree: 3 uses a day, 5 with a free account. Unlimited on Pro
Drop a PDF here, or click to choose
Your file stays on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
1
Open your PDF
Drop the PDF into the box. It opens in your browser and is never uploaded to a server.
2
Mark what to hide
Search for a name or number, tick types like SSNs, phone numbers and dates, or drag boxes over anything on the page.
3
Redact and download
Click Redact. The marked text, images and drawings are deleted from the file, then black boxes are burned in.
How to redact a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat only includes redaction in its paid Pro plan, and many free PDF websites upload your file to their servers to process it. Craftora does the redaction inside your browser using the MuPDF engine, so a confidential file never leaves your computer.
Open the PDF above, mark what should be hidden, and click Redact and download. You get a new file named with -redacted at the end. Your original file is not changed.
Redaction is not the same as drawing a black box
A black rectangle drawn with a highlighter, a shape tool or a PDF comment only covers the text. The words are still in the file underneath, and anyone can select them, copy them, or remove the box. This is how many leaked court filings and government reports exposed names and numbers that were meant to be hidden.
Real redaction deletes the characters, image pixels and vector drawings inside each marked area, then draws the box on top. That is what this tool does. After redacting, try selecting the area or searching for the hidden word: nothing will be found.
What people usually redact
- Medical and therapy offices: patient names, dates of birth, member IDs, MRNs and phone numbers before sending records, referrals or examples to someone who should not see them.
- Law firms: client names, Social Security numbers, account numbers and the names of minors in exhibits and discovery documents.
- Accounting and HR: SSNs, bank and card numbers, salaries and home addresses on tax forms, payroll reports and resumes.
- Anyone: account numbers on bank statements, IDs and utility bills you need to share as proof of address or income.
Tips for a clean redaction
- Search for every way a value is written, for example "Jane Doe", "Doe, Jane" and "J. Doe".
- Automatic search reads the text layer. Handwriting, stamps and scanned pages have no text layer, so draw boxes over them.
- Scroll through every page before downloading. Headers, footers and small print often repeat the same details.
- Keep the original in a safe place and send only the redacted copy.
Redact PDF features
- True redaction: the words under each box are deleted from the PDF, so they cannot be copied, searched or recovered.
- Find and mark every match of a name, address, case number or any other text across all pages at once.
- One click to find email addresses, phone and fax numbers, Social Security numbers, dates, card numbers and long ID numbers.
- Draw boxes over photos, signatures, handwriting, stamps and scanned pages. The image under each box is erased too.
- Black boxes or white (content removed with no visible box), plus a whole page option.
- Removes hidden document info such as title and author, and strips comments and notes.
- Checks the finished file: your searches are run again on the redacted copy to confirm nothing is left.
- Opens password protected PDFs. Works on desktop and mobile. No signup, no watermark.
Redact PDF FAQ
Can redacted text be recovered?
Not from a file redacted here. The marked text, images and drawings are deleted from the PDF, not just covered. After saving, the tool searches the new file again to confirm your search terms are gone.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The PDF is opened and redacted in your browser on your own device. Craftora only receives the tool name and file size to count your free daily uses.
Can I redact a scanned PDF?
Yes. A scanned page is a picture, so text search cannot find words on it. Draw boxes over the parts to hide and the image pixels under each box are erased.
How do I black out text in a PDF on a Mac or iPhone?
Use this page in Safari or Chrome. Drag over the text with your mouse or finger to mark it, then download the redacted file. Nothing to install.
Does it remove hidden information too?
Yes, if you keep the options on. It clears the document title, author and other document info, and removes comments and notes. Form fields and attachments are not changed, so check those if your PDF has them.
How many times can I use it?
Without an account you can redact 3 files a day, and 5 a day with a free account. Pro removes the daily limit and allows files up to 200 MB.
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