How to Redact a PDF for Free
A while back I needed to verify my past employment for a new job. The process required me to share some old paystubs — but there was a problem. Those paystubs showed my salary at that role, and I didn't want my new employer knowing what I made before. All I needed to do was black out one number before sending them over.
Simple enough, right? I did a quick search for a free PDF redaction tool and immediately ran into the same wall most people hit — every option either wanted me to sign up for an account, pay for a subscription, or upload my paystub to some server I'd never heard of. A paystub. With my name, address, and salary on it.
Eventually I gave up and signed up for a free trial of Adobe Acrobat just to redact one number on one document. It felt ridiculous. So I built a better way — and that's what this guide is about.
What redacting a PDF actually means
Before jumping in, it's worth knowing what real redaction means — because most people get this wrong and end up with a document that looks redacted but isn't.
Drawing a black box or shape over text in most PDF editors doesn't redact anything. The original text is still in the file underneath the box. Anyone can remove the box, copy the text, or search it. This is how sensitive information has leaked from "redacted" government documents — a black rectangle on top of text is not the same as text that's been removed.
True redaction permanently destroys the underlying text. The only reliable way to do this is to flatten the document — convert each page to an image with your redactions already applied, then rebuild the PDF from those images. No text layer remains because the text no longer exists in the file at all.
How to redact a PDF for free — step by step
Here's how to do it using RedactPDF — a free browser-based tool that processes everything locally on your device. Your file never gets uploaded anywhere.
Go to redactpdf.net in your browser. No account required, no sign-up, nothing to install.
Click Open PDF or drag and drop your PDF onto the page. The file loads directly in your browser — it never leaves your device.
Click and drag to draw black boxes over anything you want to redact — a salary figure, a social security number, an account number, a name, whatever you need to remove. You can redact multiple areas on the same page and navigate between pages if your document has more than one.
Click Download Redacted PDF. The tool rasterizes each page to an image with your redactions burned in, then rebuilds the PDF from those images. The text layer is permanently gone.
Verify it worked — open the downloaded file and try to select or copy text in a redacted area. You'll find nothing there. The content is gone, not hidden.
The whole process takes about 30 seconds for a simple document. No account, no subscription, no file upload, no waiting.
Why this tool is free
I built RedactPDF because I ran into this problem myself and couldn't find a good free solution. The tool is open source — you can view the full code on GitHub if you want to verify exactly what it does with your file (spoiler: nothing, it all stays in your browser).
It's kept free and ad-supported because redacting a PDF is something everyone should be able to do without paying $30 a month or handing their sensitive documents to a stranger's server. The tool runs entirely in your browser using open source libraries — there are no servers involved, no data collected, and nothing stored.
If you find it useful, sharing it with someone who might need it is the best way to support it.
Ready to redact your PDF?
Free, private, no account required. Your file never leaves your device.
Open RedactPDF →