PDF Tools
Redact PDF
Redact PDF is part of Toolspire and is ready as soon as this page loads. Hide personal details in a PDF permanently. Draw boxes or let the tool find emails, phone numbers, Aadhaar, PAN and card numbers — the text under each box is removed, not just covered, and nothing is uploaded.
On this page
What you can do here
Redaction that really removes
Many tools just draw a black rectangle — the text underneath can still be copied. Here, redacted pages are rebuilt so nothing is left to recover.
Verified output
The redacted file is opened again and each redacted page is checked for leftover text before you share it.
Find Indian IDs automatically
Aadhaar, PAN, phone numbers and emails are found across every page, with checksums to avoid false matches.
Draw anywhere
Cover signatures, photos, QR codes and handwritten details by dragging a box — it works on phones too.
Black or white
Use black bars that show something was removed, or white boxes that blend into the page.
Private by design
The documents you most need to redact are the ones you shouldn’t upload. This tool never does.
The sequence
How to redact a PDF
- 1
Open the PDF
Drop a PDF onto the box or click to choose one. Enter its password if it has one.
- 2
Mark what to hide
Use Find & mark for emails, phone numbers, Aadhaar, PAN, card numbers or your own words, and drag on the page to draw extra boxes.
- 3
Check every page
Go through the pages with the arrows or the thumbnails. Click × on a box to remove it.
- 4
Redact and download
Click Redact & download. The redacted copy downloads and is verified to contain no hidden text on the redacted pages.
Worth knowing
- Redact PDF on Toolspire: true redaction: every page with a box is saved as an image with the box burned in, so the text, images and numbers underneath are removed from the file, not hidden under a shape.
- After saving, the file is re-opened and checked: redacted pages must contain no hidden text.
- Find & mark detects email addresses, phone numbers, Aadhaar numbers (checked with the Verhoeff checksum), PAN numbers, card numbers (Luhn-checked) and any names or words you type.
- Draw boxes by hand with a mouse or finger — for signatures, photos, stamps and scanned documents.
- Document properties (title, author, subject, creator) are removed by default, as they can contain names too.
- Pages without boxes are copied unchanged, so their text stays selectable.
- Runs entirely in this tab: the PDF is not sent to us.
Why a black box isn’t enough
A PDF keeps its text separately from what you see. Drawing a black rectangle over a number — in a PDF editor, or by highlighting it black — leaves the number in the file, and anyone can copy it out or remove the rectangle. Court filings and government reports have leaked this way.
This tool redraws every page that has a box as an image, with the boxes painted in. The original text, images and drawings on that page are not copied into the new file, so there is nothing underneath to recover. The trade-off is that text on redacted pages can no longer be selected or searched; pages without boxes are untouched.
What to redact before sharing a document
- Aadhaar copies: the first 8 digits (UIDAI’s “masked Aadhaar” shows only the last 4), plus the QR code and photo if they aren’t needed.
- Bank statements: account numbers, balances and transactions that aren’t relevant to the request.
- Salary slips and ITRs: PAN, UAN, bank details and home address.
- Medical reports: patient ID, phone number and address when sharing for a second opinion.
- Also check headers, footers and stamps — and after redacting, add a “for KYC only” watermark if you like.
FAQ
Questions about Redact PDF
Where does Redact PDF run?
Is the redaction permanent?
Can I redact an Aadhaar number automatically?
Why can’t I select text on redacted pages any more?
Does Find & mark work on scanned PDFs?
Is it safe to redact confidential documents here?
Will the redacted PDF be larger?
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