How to redact a PDF
Choose the PDF, pick a page and drag over each part that must go: a name, an account number, a signature, a photo. Every marked area is listed and can be removed before saving, on as many pages as you need.
Saving rebuilds each marked page as a picture at 200 dpi with the areas painted black, so the text, numbers and images under them are no longer in the file at all; a black box drawn in most editors leaves them there to copy. Pages without marks are copied as they are.
Worked example
A bank statement to send to a landlord: on page 1, drag over the account number and the card number, on page 3 over two payments; the copy shows black bars there, and its redacted pages have no text left to select or search.
Before you rely on the result
One PDF of up to 200 MB at a time. Marked pages become pictures: their text can no longer be selected or searched, and they lose a little sharpness at 200 dpi. Pages without marks keep their text. The copy leaves out the original's bookmarks, attachments and document details. Only what you mark is removed, so check every page before you share it. A PDF locked with a password has to be unlocked first. Nothing is uploaded.
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ToolOctopus. “Redact a PDF.” Updated 2026-10-13. https://tooloctopus.com/redact-pdf.
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