Redact PDF
Redact a PDF online — permanently black out sensitive words
Real redaction means the text is destroyed, not covered with a box anyone can peel off in an editor. Layers finds every instance of the words you choose, rasterises the affected pages and paints the matches over, so the original characters no longer exist in the output file. And because the whole job runs inside your workspace session, the unredacted document never leaves our secure processing layer.
Start here
Redact a PDF in our secure workspace
Open the workspace, drop your PDF in, choose the Redact tool and type the words to black out. Every match is painted over permanently — the underlying text is gone, not just hidden.
Open the Redact toolRedaction runs in our secure workspace; the file is never uploaded and its bytes are wiped from memory when you finish.
What you get
True redaction
Matches are painted onto a rasterised page — the removed text cannot be selected, copied or recovered from the output file.
Never uploaded
The redaction runs in our secure workspace, so the sensitive original never travels over the network.
Zero retention
File bytes are wiped from memory after download or when the tab closes. Nothing is stored to redact later.
Every match found
Enter a term once and every occurrence across the whole document is blacked out in one pass.
How to redact a PDF online
- 1
Open the workspace
Go to the Layers workspace and drop the PDF you want to redact onto the file area.
- 2
Choose the Redact tool
Pick Redact from the tool row, then type the exact words or phrases that must be removed.
- 3
Apply the redaction
Layers finds every match, rasterises those pages and paints black boxes over them so the text underneath is truly gone.
- 4
Download the safe copy
Download the redacted PDF. The original bytes are cleared from memory as soon as you finish or close the tab.
Common questions
Is this real redaction or just a black box?
Real redaction. The pages containing your terms are rasterised and the matches are painted over, so the underlying characters no longer exist in the file you download.
Is redacting a PDF here free?
Redact is part of the Pro security toolkit, alongside Protect and Unlock. The everyday tools like merge, split and compress stay free.
Does my document get uploaded to a server?
No. Redaction runs in our secure workspace tab, which is exactly what you want for sensitive material — the file never leaves our secure processing layer and its bytes are wiped when you finish.
Can I redact whole areas, not just words?
Yes. Besides searching for terms, you can paint redaction boxes over exact regions of a page, and those areas are rasterised the same way.
What should I redact before sharing a PDF?
Anything the recipient must not see: names, addresses, ID numbers, account details or confidential figures. Check the output file once more before you send it.