Remove a signature
Input
contract.pdf — draw a box over the signature on page 12
Expected result
contract-redacted.pdf where page 12 is an image with a solid black box; every other page keeps its text
PDF
PDF Redact — Black Out Text & Regions
Black out text and regions in a PDF; redacted pages are flattened to images so the hidden text is removed
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About this tool
PDF Redact removes sensitive text and images from a PDF, not just covers them. Upload a PDF and every page is rendered as a preview in your browser. Drag to draw black boxes over names, account numbers, signatures or any other area, or type a word or phrase and click Find & Mark to box every match. When you click Apply Redactions, each page that has a box is re-rendered at about 200 DPI, the black boxes are burned into that bitmap, and the page is rebuilt as a single image. The original text, vector drawings and embedded images on that page are not carried over, so nothing under the boxes can be selected, copied, searched or extracted. Pages without boxes are copied unchanged into a brand-new PDF, which also drops the document title, author, XMP metadata, bookmarks, form fields and attachments. The trade-off: redacted pages become images, so their remaining text is no longer selectable or searchable. Everything runs in your browser; the file is never uploaded.
Why use it
Real Removal, Not a Cover: Redacted pages are rebuilt from pixels, so the text under each box is gone from the file rather than hidden behind a shape.
Stays on Your Device: Rendering and rebuilding happen in your browser with pdf.js and pdf-lib, so confidential files are never uploaded.
Metadata Stripped: The output is a fresh PDF without the original title, author, XMP metadata, bookmarks or attachments.
Search-Assisted Marking: Find & Mark boxes every occurrence of a word or number across the document, ready to check and adjust.
Untouched Pages Stay Sharp: Pages you don't redact keep their original text and vector quality.
How to use
- Upload the PDF you want to redact — it opens in your browser and is not uploaded anywhere.
- Click and drag on a page to draw a black box over each area you want removed.
- Optionally type a word or phrase and click Find & Mark to add a box over every match in the text layer.
- Check every box on the preview; use Undo Box to remove the last one or Clear All to start over.
- Click Apply Redactions. Pages with boxes are flattened to images with the boxes burned in, and the -redacted PDF downloads.
- Open the result and try selecting text in a redacted area — there is no text left to select on those pages.
When it helps
- When sharing a contract, statement or medical letter with names, account numbers or signatures removed.
- When releasing documents under a records request and the withheld passages must be gone from the file, not just hidden.
- When sending a sample invoice or payslip as a template with the personal details blacked out.
- When a confidential PDF must not leave your device, so an upload-based redaction service is not an option.
Examples
Remove a name everywhere
Input
deposition.pdf — search for John Smith, click Find & Mark, check the boxes, apply
Expected result
Every page containing the name is flattened with the matches blacked out; searching the output for John Smith finds nothing
Strip metadata
Input
draft.pdf with an author and title set
Expected result
Output PDF has no title, author or XMP metadata
Tips
- Search for every form of a sensitive value — with and without spaces or dashes — because each spelling is a separate match.
- After redacting, open the output and try to select or search the redacted words; they should not be found.
- Redact whole pages you want removed entirely with one large box, or delete them with a page-removal tool instead.
- Make boxes a little larger than the text so no glyph edges remain visible in the flattened image.
- Keep the original PDF in a safe place; the redacted output cannot be turned back into the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the redaction permanent?
Yes for the pages you redact. Each page with a box is rendered to an image with the boxes burned in, and only that image goes into the output. The original text, fonts and images on that page are not copied, so the content under the boxes cannot be recovered from the redacted file. Keep your original if you might need it later.
Why can't I select text on the redacted pages any more?
Because the page is now a picture. Flattening is what guarantees the hidden text is gone, and it also removes the selectable text layer from the rest of that page. Pages without boxes keep their text. If you need the redacted page searchable again, run it through the PDF OCR tool afterwards.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is opened, previewed, redacted and saved entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to UtilityKit's servers.
What happens to the PDF metadata?
It is removed. The output is a new document with no Info dictionary or XMP metadata, so the original title, author, subject, keywords, creator application and dates are not carried over. Bookmarks, form fields, attachments and links that jump to other pages are dropped too; web links on untouched pages are kept.
Is this enough for GDPR, HIPAA or FOIA redaction?
The tool removes the content under each box from the output file, which is what true redaction requires. Whether a document is correctly redacted still depends on you marking everything that must go, including repeats of a name or number on other pages. Review every page before sharing, and follow your organisation's procedures.
How accurate is Find & Mark?
It boxes each match using the position and width the PDF reports for that run of text, with a little padding. Boxes are usually tight but can be slightly off with unusual fonts, and a phrase split across separate text runs may not be found. Always check the preview and draw extra boxes by hand where needed.
Does the search work on scanned PDFs?
Only if the scan has an OCR text layer. Image-only scans have no text to search, so draw boxes over the areas by hand — the redaction itself works the same way.
Will the file get bigger?
Usually somewhat. Each redacted page is stored as a lossless PNG at about 200 DPI, typically a few hundred kilobytes per text page. Pages without boxes are copied as they were. Run PDF Compress afterwards if size matters.
Explore the category
Glossary
- Redaction
- Permanently removing sensitive information from a document so it cannot be read or recovered from the shared copy.
- Flattening
- Turning a page into a single image so its separate text, vector and image objects no longer exist in the file. This tool flattens every page that has a redaction box.
- Visual Overlay
- A black shape drawn on top of a page while the text underneath stays in the file — the common mistake that leaves redacted text copyable. This tool does not produce overlays.
- Text Layer
- The machine-readable text in a PDF that powers search and copy-paste. Redacted pages lose it; Find & Mark needs it to locate matches.
- DPI
- Dots per inch — the resolution redacted pages are rendered at. About 200 DPI keeps body text legible on screen and in print.
- Document Metadata
- Fields such as Title, Author, Creator and dates stored in the PDF Info dictionary or XMP. The redacted output contains none of them.
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