Redact a PDF — privately, in your browser
Redact a PDF free: sensitive data is auto-detected, you type any extra words (like a name) or draw boxes, and each page is rebuilt with the content genuinely removed — not hidden under a box. It runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
Redacting a PDF should mean the sensitive content is gone — not covered by a box you can drag away or copy out. Most "redaction" tools (and drawing a black rectangle in a PDF editor) leave the original text and pixels in the file, recoverable in seconds. This one rebuilds the document so the content is genuinely removed, and it never uploads your file.
Why is a black box not real redaction?
A rectangle drawn over text is just another object on the page. The text underneath is still selectable, still searchable, and still sitting in the file’s bytes — anyone can copy it out or open the file in an inspector and read it. Real redaction has to destroy the content, not hide it.
How does true redaction work here?
Redenta renders each page to an image, paints the redaction areas as solid black over the actual pixels, and rebuilds the PDF from those flattened images with no text layer and no original metadata. Sensitive values are found three ways: automatic detection — structured data (account numbers, cards, emails, IBANs, postcodes) plus names that appear with a title or label ("Mr …", "Account Name: …"), masked at every occurrence — words you type, and boxes you draw yourself. The removed content is not recoverable by copy-paste or by inspecting the file. The trade-off is an image-based PDF that is no longer text-searchable — the price of a real guarantee.
Does my file get uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser. There is no upload, so the document you are trying to protect is never sent to a server — which is exactly what you want when the file is sensitive enough to redact.
FAQ
Can the redacted text be recovered?
No. Because the page is flattened to an image with the black areas burned into the pixels and no text layer is kept, there is nothing underneath to copy out or extract from the bytes.
Is it really free and private?
Yes. Redaction runs entirely in your browser; your PDF is never uploaded, and there is no sign-up.
Will the redacted PDF still be searchable?
No — the output is image-based, which is the trade-off for guaranteed removal. If you need a searchable copy of the non-sensitive parts, keep your original safe and share only the redacted version.
Ready to try it? It runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.