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AnyFileStudio

Redact PDF

Genuinely hides part of a PDF. It does not draw a rectangle over the words — those would stay in the file and come back with a copy-paste: the page is redrawn from scratch, and there is nothing left to recover underneath the black. The document never leaves your device.

Your file stays on your device: nothing is uploaded

How it works

The pages you touch are redrawn from scratch, so nothing is left to recover under the black. The others stay as they are, with text still selectable. At the end the file just produced is reopened to check the text is really gone: if it is not, we do not hand it to you. Redacted pages become images, so they will no longer be searchable. The file you download is a new document: the title, author and other document properties do not carry over, and neither do bookmarks and attachments.

Frequently asked questions

Can I redact several documents at once?
No, one at a time, up to 50 MB: the areas you draw belong to that document’s pages. Download the result, then move on to the next document with its own areas or search.
Does the black cover exactly the rectangle I draw?
It covers the rectangle plus a very thin border all round, invisible to the eye. That stops the grey halo around the letters from staying behind, since a short number could still be guessed from it. To be safe, draw the rectangle a little wider than the word anyway.
Can I search for two different names in one go?
The search takes one piece of text at a time, on top of any areas you draw. For two names, redact the first, drop the file you get back in here and search for the second: pages already redacted stay as they are, and the search carries on through the rest.
How do I redact a password-protected PDF?
Drop it in here like any other. If it opens on its own and only forbids copying or editing, you can redact it straight away. If it needs a password to open, press “Redact the PDF”: we ask for it in the file’s row, and then the page to mark appears. The file you download is no longer protected: if it has to stay that way, set the password again at the end with “Protect PDF”.
Do the document’s title and author stay in the redacted file?
No. The file you download is a new document, and the document properties — title, author, subject, keywords, the program that created it — do not carry over, and neither do bookmarks and attachments. For a tool meant to hide things that is for the better: a name also written in the title is not left behind. The pages you do not touch, on the other hand, stay as they are, text and all.

Your files are never uploaded. Anywhere.

Your file stays in your browser’s memory: it is read, processed and written back here. There is no server to send it to.

  • Processed locallyEverything happens on your device.
  • Nothing to upload, nothing to wait forNothing to upload, no waiting.
  • No files to deleteWe keep nothing: nothing reaches us.
YOUR DEVICEyour fileprocessingthe resultservernever gets here

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