Redact a PDF online, free

Drag black boxes over anything you want gone: account numbers, names, signatures, photos. Whatever is under a box is removed from the downloaded file, so it can’t be copied or searched.

Redact PDF: common questions

Is the text really gone, or just covered?

Really gone. When you download, each page with a redaction is redrawn as an image with the boxes burned in, so the words, pictures and drawings under them are no longer in the file. Copying, searching or removing the box finds nothing.

Is there a limit on how many PDFs I can redact?

No. There is no daily or monthly limit and no account, and it stays free for life: use it as often as you like. Files up to 50 MB in all are processed on ScalePDF’s server; bigger ones are processed right on your device, which can take a little longer.

What is the difference between Redact and Whiteout?

Whiteout paints over something so it can’t be seen, but the words stay in the file and can still be copied out. Use it to fix a page’s look. Use Redact when the information must not be in the file at all.

What happens to the rest of the page?

A page with a redaction becomes an image, so its text can no longer be selected. Pages without redactions keep their text as it was. The saved file also leaves out bookmarks, links and fillable fields, because those can hold the very words you removed.

Is my file uploaded?

Only while it is being processed. Your file goes to ScalePDF’s server over an encrypted connection, is worked on in memory, and is deleted the moment the result comes back. Nothing is stored, logged or shared.