Drawing a black box over a name in a PDF often hides nothing. The text is still there to select, copy or find by search, and many embarrassing leaks have happened exactly that way. Redact PDF applies true redactions. You mark rectangular areas on specific pages, and the content inside them is removed from the file and replaced with solid black.
How to use Redact PDF
- Add the PDF.
- Enter the Page and the area as percentages of the page: Left, Top, Width and Height.
- Select Add redaction area, and repeat for every area to remove.
- Select Apply Redactions.
- Open the result and try to select or search for the removed text to confirm it's gone.
Real redaction versus covering
- Delete, then fill: When the redactions are applied, VelloDoc uses the PyMuPDF engine to delete the text inside each marked area and blank out the image pixels underneath. Then it fills the area with black.
- The words are gone: The removed words are no longer in the file, so they can't be copied, searched or recovered by moving an object aside.
- Not the same as shapes or cropping: That's the difference between redaction and drawing shapes, and between redaction and cropping, which only hides content outside the visible page.
Marking the areas precisely
- Percentages from the top-left: Areas are entered as percentages of the page measured from its top-left corner.
- A worked example: A box at Left 10, Top 20, Width 50 and Height 5 starts a tenth of the way across and a fifth of the way down. It spans half the page width and is a twentieth of the page tall.
- Any page size: Percentages work on any page size.
- Give each item its own box: Add a separate area for each item, and make boxes slightly larger than the text so no fragments of letters remain.
- One page at a time: Each area applies only to the page number you enter.
Checking and sharing redacted files
- Always verify the result: search the output for the redacted words and try selecting where they were.
- Properties aren't touched: Redaction removes page content, not document properties, so run Remove Metadata before sharing, and remember that the same information may appear elsewhere, like in headers, bookmarks or other pages.
- Keep the original private: Keep the unredacted original private.
- Where to read more: The PDF privacy guide walks through a full checklist before sharing.
When people use Redact PDF
Disclosure and records requests
Remove personal details of third parties before releasing documents under disclosure or freedom of information rules.
Removing account numbers
Blank out bank, card or policy numbers before sending a statement as proof of address or income.
Anonymizing case studies
Strip names and identifying details from reports before sharing them as examples.
Limitations to know
Redact PDF removes rectangular areas entered as page percentages, with no visual preview and no search-and-redact. It doesn't remove metadata, bookmarks or matching text elsewhere in the file, so check the output carefully before sharing.
Redact PDF: common questions
Is redacted text really gone?
Yes. Text inside a redaction area is deleted from the file instead of hidden, so it can't be selected, searched or recovered from the redacted copy.
Can I search for a word and redact every occurrence?
Not in this tool. Areas are marked by position, so find each occurrence in a PDF viewer first and add an area for it.
Can I preview where the box will go?
There's no visual preview. Estimate the percentages, process the file and check the output. If a box is misplaced, adjust it and run the original again.
Does redaction remove metadata?
No. Author names and other document properties are stored separately from page content, so use Remove Metadata as well.
Can I redact a scanned document?
Yes. The image pixels inside the area are blanked, and if the scan has an OCR text layer, the hidden text inside the area is removed too.