Hide text, signatures, or sensitive data with opaque blocks. 100% local processing — files never uploaded.
Redact a PDF online free — permanently remove sensitive content such as names, account numbers, addresses, or any private information. Draw black boxes and download a PDF where that content is permanently gone — not just covered with an overlay, but actually removed. Done entirely in your browser. No upload, no account needed.
Click Choose files or drag your PDF into the drop zone. Pages render as thumbnails in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Click and drag to draw black cover boxes over the content you want to remove — names, addresses, account numbers, phone numbers, or any text or image you need to hide.
Click Apply Redaction. The boxes are burned into the PDF — the underlying content is replaced, not just covered. Download the redacted file.
When responding to Freedom of Information requests, redact personally identifiable information (names, SSNs, addresses) from documents before releasing them publicly.
Courts require redaction of minors' names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and home addresses before filing documents on public dockets.
Hospitals and clinics often need to share patient records while protecting other patients' or staff members' information that appears on the same page.
Remove pricing terms, discount structures, or proprietary rates from contracts before sharing with parties who shouldn't see those terms.
| Tool | Redaction method | Daily limit | Privacy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDFree | Permanent replacement | No limit | No upload | Free forever |
| iLovePDF | Black overlay | Daily limit | Uploaded to servers | Free / $6+/mo |
| SmallPDF | Not available free | — | Uploaded to servers | Paid only |
| Adobe Acrobat | True redaction | 2/month free | Uploaded to servers | $19.99/mo |
Yes. PDFree replaces the content under the redaction boxes with a black rectangle at the PDF object level. The original text or image data is not stored elsewhere in the file and cannot be recovered.
100% locally. PDFree processes redaction entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded to any server.
No. Visual redaction does not remove document metadata. Use the Metadata tool on the PDFree homepage separately to remove author names and creation dates.
Some tools draw a black image on top of text but leave the original text accessible in the PDF's underlying data. PDFree removes the content — a security reviewer who extracts the PDF's text stream would find nothing under the redaction box.
Yes. Navigate between pages using the page buttons and draw boxes on any page. All boxes are applied when you click 'Apply Redaction'.
No. Redaction is a one-way operation — that is what makes it secure. If you need to undo, work from the original unredacted file. Keep the original in a secure location until the redacted version is verified correct.
Yes. The redaction removes the PDF content stream data for the covered area, including any searchable text within the box bounds.
PDFree is a free online PDF redaction tool — redact PDF documents with no account, no file upload, instant processing. Unlike server-based tools that receive your confidential documents, PDFree covers sensitive areas locally in your browser. The redaction is permanent and cannot be undone by the recipient.