PDF Redaction (Burn-in)

Draw rectangles over sensitive content. When you export, the tool burns in those areas so they can’t be recovered. Everything runs locally in your browser.

Document & Settings

Opacity preview
Tip: Hold Shift while dragging to draw a square. Arrow keys nudge the last box by 1px (Shift+arrows = 10px).

Pages

Viewer

Preview opacity does not affect final burn-in (always solid fill). Color does.

How this redaction works

Need to black out sensitive information before sharing a PDF? This redaction tool is built to make that simple and safe. It lets you cover names, addresses, account numbers, or any confidential text and permanently remove it from the document. It is a fast way to redact PDF files without installing apps or creating accounts. Because everything runs in your browser, your files stay on your device, which is ideal when privacy matters.

Here is the idea behind “burn-in” redaction in plain language: the tool converts each page into an image, draws your redaction boxes on top, and then rebuilds a new PDF from those images. That means the covered content is removed at the pixel level, not just hidden. Unlike a simple overlay that can be lifted to reveal the original text, a burned-in redaction replaces that area entirely. The trade-off is that the final PDF behaves like images, so text is no longer selectable or searchable.

Using the calculator-style workflow is straightforward:

  1. Upload or drop in your PDF.
  2. Zoom to the right area and draw boxes over anything you want to redact.
  3. Pick a redaction color and preview the page to confirm coverage.
  4. Adjust DPI if you need higher print quality or smaller file size.
  5. Export the new redacted PDF and save it locally.

This is useful for many real-world tasks: removing personal data from a contract, sharing a financial statement with only the needed figures, preparing legal filings, or sending HR documents without exposing private details. It is also a good option for teams that need quick document sanitization without installing software.

  • Private: in-browser processing keeps your PDF on your machine.
  • Permanent: redacted areas are truly removed, not just covered.
  • Practical: control color and DPI to balance clarity and file size.

FAQ

Is this different from drawing black boxes in a PDF editor?

Yes. Many tools only overlay boxes (the original text remains underneath). This tool burns redactions into the page image so the content is removed.

Can I change the redaction color?

Yes. Choose any color. Final burn-in is a solid fill in that color.

What DPI should I use?

150–200 DPI is fine for most documents. Use 300 DPI when you need higher print quality (larger files).

5 Fun Facts about PDF Redaction

Black boxes aren’t erasers

In many editors the text under a drawn rectangle is still selectable. Only “burning” to pixels truly removes the underlying characters.

Overlay trap

OCR ghosts linger

Scanned PDFs often carry an invisible OCR text layer behind the image. If you don’t flatten it, searches can still surface “hidden” words.

Ghost text

Metadata can leak secrets

Titles, authors, even GPS data from embedded images can live in the PDF info dictionary—unredacted unless you scrub or rebuild the file.

Hidden breadcrumbs

Vectors never blur

PDF text is vector art; you can zoom forever and still copy it. Rasterizing pages is what actually kills the text layer.

Pixel or bust

Signatures break on edit

Digital signatures seal the exact bytes of a PDF. The moment you redact or flatten pages, that cryptographic seal is gone.

No more seal

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