Black out sensitive areas of your document.
Black out sensitive areas of your document. Redact PDF runs entirely in your web browser, so your file is processed on your own device and is never uploaded to MyPDFMate.
Answers to the questions people ask most about using Redact PDF.
Open Redact PDF on MyPDFMate, upload your file, draw boxes over the areas you want to hide on the page preview, and click Redact PDF. The areas are covered with solid black boxes.
Yes. Redact PDF is free, needs no sign-up and runs in any browser.
Draw a box over the text in Redact PDF and it's covered in solid black. For sensitive documents, also flatten the result (see the next question) so the text can't be copied from underneath the box.
Redact PDF covers the areas with solid black boxes, but the original text underneath may still be selectable. For documents where hidden text must be removed completely, convert the redacted file with PDF to JPG and back with JPG to PDF. This flattens each page into an image so the covered text is gone for good.
Open the final PDF and try to search (Ctrl+F) for a redacted word, or select and copy text across a black box. If you can find or paste it, the text is still there.
A box or highlight added on top hides text visually, but the text stays in the file and can be copied out. True redaction removes the content itself, which is why flattening the pages matters for sensitive documents.
Common examples are Social Security and ID numbers, bank and card numbers, home addresses, signatures, medical details, and the names of minors or other private people.
With MyPDFMate, yes. Redaction happens in your browser, so the sensitive document is never uploaded to a server.
Open Redact PDF in Safari, upload the file, draw your boxes and download the result.
In Acrobat Pro, open Tools → Redact, mark the text or areas, then click Apply to remove them permanently. The Redact tool isn't included in the free Acrobat Reader.
You can, but any change breaks a certificate-based digital signature. Redact before the document is signed whenever possible.
Your original file is never changed, so keep it safe. Once a redacted copy is flattened into images, the covered content can't be recovered from that copy.