Redact a PDF permanently
Hide personal data before you share a document — and make sure it is really gone. A black box drawn on top hides nothing: the text underneath can still be copied. Here it is removed.
Drop the PDF you want to redact
or pick a file from your device
- Open the PDF. Type a word to find all its occurrences, or tick emails, phone numbers or ID/account numbers to mark them automatically.
- Drag over the page to mark any other area: a signature, a photo, a stamp. Remove any area with its ×.
- Press Redact and download. The pages with redactions are rebuilt without the hidden content.
Why a black box is not enough — and what CLEKARA does
Many redacted documents have leaked because someone drew a black rectangle over the text: the rectangle is just another object, and the words are still in the file for anyone to copy or extract. Real redaction must remove the content itself.
Each page with marked areas is drawn as an image at 200 dpi with the areas already painted, and that image replaces the page. The document is then rebuilt copying only what the pages use, so the original text, fonts and images of those pages are not in the file at all. When you redacted by searching, CLEKARA reads the result again and confirms the text can no longer be found. Pages without redactions are copied untouched.
Worth knowing
Redacted pages become images, so their remaining text can no longer be selected; run OCR PDF on the result if you need it searchable. Bookmarks and form fields are not kept, because they may contain the very data you are hiding.
Automatic searches find text inside the PDF. In a scanned PDF the text is a picture: mark those areas by hand, or run OCR first. Always check every page before sending.
Frequently asked questions
How do I permanently black out text in a PDF?
Mark the text here (by searching or by dragging over it) and press Redact and download. The text is removed from the file, not just covered.
Can someone remove the black boxes afterwards?
No. On redacted pages there is no text under the boxes any more: the page is an image with the areas already painted.
Can it find all the emails or phone numbers?
Yes. Tick the automatic searches and every match in the document is marked for you to review.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser, which matters especially for documents with personal data.