Use the free PDF Text Redactor below: upload a PDF, adjust the settings, and download your new PDF. Your file never leaves your browser — all processing happens on your device, and nothing is uploaded to any server.
What this redactor does
Sometimes a PDF contains words you do not want other people to see: a name, an address, a phone number, or a private figure. This free tool covers those words with solid black boxes, so they cannot be read on the page. You type the exact words, upload the PDF, and download a new version where every match is hidden behind a black rectangle. It is a fast way to prepare a document for sharing.
People use this for many everyday reasons. A freelancer hides a client’s name before posting a sample of their work. A teacher hides answers before sharing a worksheet. A tenant hides personal details before sending a rental document to a landlord. In each case the goal is the same: share the document, but not everything in it.
How to cover text in your PDF
Upload your PDF and type the exact text you want to cover. Matching is not case-sensitive, so typing a name in lowercase still finds it with a capital letter. The tool searches every page, finds each occurrence, and draws a black box over it. Press the button and download the result. If the tool reports no match, check your spelling and try a shorter version of the phrase, since the tool matches whole pieces of text on the page.
Always open the downloaded PDF and look through it before sharing. Check that every sensitive word is covered, and that no similar word was missed because it was spelled differently or split across two lines. A quick visual check takes a minute and prevents an embarrassing leak.
An important warning about redaction
This tool provides visual cover only. The black boxes hide the text on the page, but the underlying text layer of the PDF may still be present underneath, which means a determined person with PDF software could potentially remove the boxes or copy the hidden text. For casual sharing, that is usually acceptable. For legal, medical, or government documents, it is not enough.
If a document truly must never reveal the hidden words, use certified redaction software that removes the text from the file itself, or print the covered PDF and scan it back as an image. For most everyday sharing, though, visual cover plus a careful check is a practical balance between safety and convenience. Never rely on this tool alone for court filings, classified material, or highly sensitive personal data.
Tips for thorough covering
Cover every form of the sensitive detail, not just one. A phone number might appear with spaces in one place and dashes in another, so search for each version. Names can appear as full names and as initials, and addresses can appear shortened. Run the tool once per version if needed, starting each time from the previously covered file.
Also watch for the same information in headers, footers, and page numbers, which are easy to overlook. If the document is a scan rather than a text PDF, the tool cannot find words, because there is no text layer to search. In that case, the shape drawer tool can place black rectangles by hand, or you can print and cover the page physically.
Privacy
Your PDF is processed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, no account is created, and no copy of your file is stored on any server. That is important for a redaction tool: the whole point is to keep private details private, and sending the document to a server would defeat the purpose. Close the page when you are done, and the file is gone from the tool.