Redact without uploading
Redact a PDF without uploading it anywhere.
Uploading a document to hide its secrets is a strange trade. This tool does the redaction on your computer, and you can verify with your own browser that nothing was sent.
- No upload, checkable in DevTools
- Works offline once loaded
- Text removed, not covered
- Free for 3 pages
PDF redaction tool
Drop a PDF to redact
The file is opened inside this page and goes nowhere else. Draw boxes over what must go. The new PDF is rebuilt from page images, so the text under the boxes is not in it.
Add another PDF (Pro)No upload. This page's security policy forbids network connections, so your file cannot leave it. See how to check that yourself.
Free: manual boxes, up to 3 pages per file. Pro ($19, once): unlimited pages, auto-find, batch redaction. How it works: each page is drawn to an image, the boxes are painted into the image, and the output PDF is built from those images alone. The original text, fonts, annotations and properties are not copied.
Why avoid uploading a document you are about to redact
A document that needs redacting contains something you are not comfortable sharing: a national ID number, a medical detail, a client name. Most online redaction tools ask you to upload the whole, unredacted file to their server first. You are then relying on the provider's retention and security practices for the very thing you wanted to protect. Doing the work locally removes that dependency.
Check it yourself in under a minute
- Open this page and open developer tools: F12, or Option+Command+I on a Mac.
- Go to the Network tab and press the clear button.
- Press Try a sample document above, draw a box, and press Redact and download PDF.
- The Network list stays empty. No request is made while you work.
- For a stricter test, switch on airplane mode and do it again.
- In the Console, run
fetch('https://example.com'). The browser refuses it and names the security policy that blocked it.
The same steps apply to any tool that claims to be private. If its Network tab shows your file leaving, it was not.
What you get instead of an uploaded copy
A PDF rebuilt from page images with your boxes painted in. It holds no selectable text, no annotations, no attachments and none of the original document properties. The page reads the file back and tells you the counts. See how to verify a redaction and what this site stores in your browser.
How it works
Open the PDF
It is read inside this tab.
Draw your boxes
Or use Pro auto-find and review each hit.
Download and verify
Run the checks on the verify page.
Questions
How can a website redact a PDF without receiving it?
Your browser can read a file you choose without sending it anywhere. JavaScript on the page gets the bytes, a PDF reader library bundled with the site draws the pages, and the new file is created in memory and handed back to you as a download. A server is only needed to deliver the page itself.
How do I know it does not upload my file?
Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, clear it, then redact a document. The list stays empty. You can also turn on airplane mode after the page loads and redact again. Both tests are described step by step on the privacy page.
What stops the site from uploading it later if it is changed?
Each page carries a Content-Security-Policy that your browser enforces, forbidding every network connection from the page. That protects against mistakes in this site's code. It cannot protect against you opening a different or tampered copy of the site, so use the real address and check the policy in the page source.
Does anything leave my computer at all?
When you load the page, the host serves ordinary static files and can see what any web host sees, such as your IP address and the page requested. Your PDF is not part of that. The one page that makes a request is the activation page, which sends a license key to the license server if you buy Pro.
Are browser extensions a risk?
Yes. An extension with permission to read pages can see what is on screen, including your document. This site cannot control that, so redact sensitive files in a browser profile without extensions you do not trust.