To redact a PDF with OnCloudPDF, select the file, find words to hide or draw black boxes on the pages, and click Redact PDF.
Processed in your browser
No upload
No account
1Choose file
2Adjust and run
3Download
or drop a file here, or paste one with CtrlV
Good to know: Redaction here is destructive: each page with at least one box is re-drawn as a picture (200 dpi by default, 150 or 300 on request) with the boxes burned into the pixels. The covered text, vector graphics and images are gone from the file, not just covered. All limits
To redact a PDF with OnCloudPDF, select the file, find words to hide or draw black boxes on the pages, and click Redact PDF. Every page that has a box is rebuilt as a picture with the boxes burned in, so the text underneath no longer exists in the file, and the result is read back to confirm that no text is left under the boxes. Everything runs in your browser.
Updated · Runs in your browser, no upload, no account
How to use Redact PDF
Select the PDF.
Type the words or phrases to remove (one per line) or tick patterns such as email addresses, then click Find and mark. Every match gets a black box.
Drag on the pages to add boxes by hand. Click any box to remove it.
Click Redact PDF, read the checks shown on the result, and open the downloaded file to look at it before you share it.
What it does and what it does not do
Redaction here is destructive: each page with at least one box is re-drawn as a picture (200 dpi by default, 150 or 300 on request) with the boxes burned into the pixels. The covered text, vector graphics and images are gone from the file, not just covered.
The price is that redacted pages lose their text layer: the rest of the text on those pages is no longer selectable or searchable. Pages without boxes are copied untouched. Run OCR PDF afterwards if you need searchable text back.
The output is a new document. Bookmarks, attachments, scripts, form data and document properties are not carried over, because they can contain the words you are hiding. Title and author are only kept if you ask.
Finding words works on the text layer. A scanned PDF has none: draw boxes by hand, or run OCR PDF first. Words in images, annotations or comments on pages without boxes are not searched.
Boxes for found words are placed from the position of the text; for a word inside a longer line the box is estimated by character widths and may be a little wider or narrower than the word. Look at every box before you apply.
After building, the tool reads the result with PDF.js: the redacted pages must contain no text at all, and the words you searched for must not be found anywhere. This catches mistakes but cannot judge what you forgot to cover, so always open the result and look at it.
Is my file uploaded?
The document stays in your browser. Pages are rendered and rebuilt locally, and the verification also runs locally. Nothing is sent to a server.
Why drawing a black rectangle is not redaction
In most PDF editors a black rectangle is only a shape on top of the page; the text below can still be selected, copied or found by search. Many leaks of confidential documents came from this mistake. This tool does not place shapes: it replaces the page by a picture in which the boxes are black pixels, so there is nothing to recover from the file.
Find and redact names, emails and numbers
Type each name or number on its own line and click Find and mark, or tick Email addresses, Phone numbers or IBAN numbers. Matches that are split into several pieces inside the PDF are still found, and a phrase that wraps onto the next line gets a box on each line. Use Whole words only to avoid hiding a short word inside longer ones.
Ways to redact a PDF
Ways to redact a PDF
Criteria
OnCloudPDF
Server-based online tools
Desktop software
Removes the text underneath
Yes: affected pages become pictures
Varies by provider; some only cover it
Yes in professional editors, no in basic ones
Where the document is processed
In your browser
On the provider's server (upload needed)
On your computer
Checks the result
Yes: reads it back and searches again
Rarely
Sometimes
Keeps text searchable on redacted pages
No (pictures)
Varies
Often yes
Frequently asked questions
How do I permanently redact a PDF?
Select the file, find the words or draw boxes over what to hide, and click Redact PDF. The pages with boxes are rebuilt as pictures with the boxes burned in, so the hidden content is not in the file any more.
Is the hidden text really gone?
On redacted pages yes: they are pictures with black pixels and no text layer. The tool reads the result back and reports whether any text remains on those pages and whether the searched words appear anywhere. Always open the file and check it yourself too.
Why can I not select text on redacted pages?
Because those pages are pictures; that is how the content is destroyed. Pages without boxes keep their text. Use OCR PDF if you need a text layer on the redacted pages.
Does it find words that are split across the PDF text?
Yes. Words broken into several text pieces, and phrases that wrap onto a second line, are matched and each part gets its own box.
Can I redact a scanned PDF?
You can draw boxes by hand on a scan. Searching for words needs a text layer, so run OCR PDF first if you want to search.
Is the document uploaded?
No. Rendering, searching, rebuilding and checking all happen in your browser.
Related PDF tools
Flatten PDF – Flatten fillable PDF form fields into static content in your browser. Only form fields are flattened; the file is never uploaded. Free, no account.
Edit PDF Metadata – Change or clear a PDF's title, author, subject, keywords and creator in your browser. Free, no upload. Hidden/XMP metadata is not removed.
OCR PDF – Run OCR on a scanned PDF in your browser with Tesseract.js: 8 languages, invisible text layer. Your file is not uploaded; engine data loads from CDNs.
Protect PDF – Add a password to a PDF with AES-256 encryption and optionally block printing, copying or editing. Done in your browser: the file and the password never leave your device.
