Redact PDF - Frequently Asked Questions
Answers about covering sensitive areas of a PDF in your browser, with no upload.
Does the redact tool upload my PDF?
No. Redact PDF runs in your browser, and your file never leaves your device. It is uploaded only if you choose to share the result as a link.
How do I cover sensitive areas?
Open the PDF, choose Mark Redaction and draw boxes over the areas to hide. Move between pages with Previous and Next, and undo or adjust boxes as you go. Then click Apply & Save to download a copy with black boxes on the pages.
Is the covered text removed from the file?
No. Please read this before sharing. The black boxes hide content on the page, but any real text underneath stays in the file. Someone could still select, copy or extract it. If the hidden information must be permanently removed, convert the covered PDF to images with PDF to JPG and then back to PDF with Images to PDF. The result contains only pictures of the pages, so the hidden text is gone.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. A scanned page is a picture, so a black box covers what is visible. Zoom in and make sure each box fully covers the area. Some scans also carry an invisible text layer from OCR; the image-conversion step above removes that too.
Is there a file size limit?
Because the PDF is opened in your browser, small and medium files work best, ideally under about 50–80 MB. Very large files may render slowly, especially on phones.
What about comments and annotations?
Anything visible under a box is covered on the page. Draw boxes over comments and annotations as well, and check the downloaded file before sharing it.
Ready to redact? Open the Redact PDF tool.