How do I verify a redaction worked?

Open the redacted file, try to copy/paste from a redacted area (you should get nothing or only black-box characters), and use Ctrl+F to search for the redacted strings (no results). Both checks should fail before you share the file.

Can I undo a redaction?

No — true redaction is destructive by design. Always work from a copy and keep your original PDF as a master so you can re-redact differently if needed.

No. Redaction runs entirely in your browser — the sensitive file never reaches our server, which is the whole point of redacting it in the first place.

Redact a PDF

Permanently remove sensitive content from PDFs before sharing.

Why use this

True content removal, not visual cover-up: PDFWix strips the redacted text and images from the PDF stream itself. Drawing a black shape over text in [Edit PDF](/edit-pdf) leaves the data underneath — anyone with a real editor can recover it.
Search-and-redact across the document: Type 'john.doe@acme.com' or a SSN pattern and redact every occurrence in one pass. Far safer than manually scanning a 200-page disclosure.
Metadata scrubbed automatically: Author name, original filename, comments, and creation history are wiped on export — common leak sources that survive a visible redaction.
Visual confirmation: Redacted areas are filled with solid black so reviewers can see exactly what was removed. The file still looks redacted to a human reader.
Browser-side: Redaction runs entirely on your device — sensitive contracts, medical records, and financial files never reach our server, which matters when the whole point is keeping data private.

Use cases

Redacting Social Security numbers and addresses from a tax document before sending to a CPA
Stripping patient identifiers from medical records shared with a research collaborator
Removing client names and financial figures from a case study before publishing on a marketing site
Wiping personal email addresses from a contract before posting it as a sample
Redacting names and account numbers from a bank statement uploaded for a loan application

How it works

Upload your PDF — Click "Select PDF file" or drag the document into the upload box. Pages render in the redaction view with selectable text overlays.
Mark the content to redact — Drag a box over any sensitive area, or use 'find text' to redact every occurrence of a string (emails, SSNs, names) across the whole document in one pass.
Click "Apply redactions" — PDFWix removes the marked content from the underlying PDF stream — not just a visual overlay — and replaces it with a solid black box. Metadata is scrubbed automatically.
Download the redacted PDF — Save the redacted file. Verify by trying to copy/paste from the redacted area and Ctrl+F searching the redacted strings — both should fail.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real redaction or just a black box on top?

Real redaction. PDFWix removes the underlying text and images from the PDF stream — they're gone, not covered. Search and copy-paste won't recover them. Drawing a black shape with [Edit PDF](/edit-pdf) is visual cover-up only and is not safe for sensitive data.

How do I redact every occurrence of a string at once?

Use the 'find text' field. Type the string (an email, SSN, name) and PDFWix redacts every occurrence across the whole document in one pass. Much safer than scanning a long file by eye.

What about metadata?

PDFWix scrubs metadata (author, original filename, creation history, comments) automatically on export. These are common leak sources — a redacted PDF that still says 'Author: Jane Doe, original_draft_v3.docx' defeats the point.