Draw boxes over sensitive content — it's permanently flattened out, not just covered.
Last Updated: August 2026·Written by Ayaz Dilawar
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Click and drag on the page to draw a black redaction box.
Applying redactions…
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Redacted!
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Redact PDF
Permanently black out sensitive text or images in a PDF. Redacted content can't be recovered — 100% browser-based, no upload needed.
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Stays in your browser
Processing runs on your own device. Your files are not uploaded to a server, so private documents stay private.
Draw boxes over sensitive text or images and PDFly removes that content from the output file instead of just covering it. Redaction is manual, so you choose what to black out and nothing is detected automatically, and it does not clear document metadata, which you should check separately. Review every page before you share the result.
Good to know
Redact and then flatten (or download the redacted result directly) — never send a version where the block is just a visual overlay that could be removed.
Double-check metadata and embedded file properties separately, since redacting page content doesn't clear document metadata.
Review every page manually before sharing — automated redaction on this tool is manual, not AI-detected.
This is manual redaction — you select what to black out; it doesn't automatically detect sensitive data like SSNs or names.
Always verify the exported file doesn't retain a hidden text layer under the redaction box before sharing sensitive documents.
Not a substitute for legal review when redacting documents for compliance or litigation purposes.
Troubleshooting
"Draw at least one redaction box first": Click and drag on the page preview to draw a black box over the content you want to redact before applying.
The text under the box still shows when I select/copy it: Applying redactions flattens every page into a fresh image-based PDF, so the underlying text is destroyed, not just covered — download the result and check it, not the live preview.
The output has no selectable/searchable text anywhere: That's expected — flattening rebuilds every page as an image so the redaction is permanent. If you need the rest of the document searchable, redact a copy and keep the original for reference.
The redacted file is larger than the original: Every page becomes a rendered image during flattening, which can increase file size. Run Compress PDF afterward if needed.
"Failed to apply redactions": The source file may be corrupted. Try Repair PDF on the original first.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Proper redaction permanently removes the selected content from the output PDF rather than simply hiding it.
Yes. You can permanently remove selected images or graphic areas from supported PDFs.
No. Once the new redacted PDF is saved, the removed content cannot be recovered.
Yes, but scanned documents may require OCR if you want to identify and redact text instead of image areas.