Free tool · No upload
Redact a PDF for good
Draw boxes over anything that must go, or type a word to mark every place it appears. On export, each marked page is redrawn as an image without that content, so it cannot be copied, searched or uncovered. Links, form fields and metadata can go too.
Pro feature
Add a file to begin.
How to redact a PDF for good
- 1
Add the PDF. It opens in the PdfNib editor with the redact tool selected.
- 2
Click the page to place a box and drag it over anything that must go, or type a word in the Redaction panel to mark every match.
- 3
Press Export PDF. Marked pages are redrawn without that content.
Your PDF stays on your device
Most online PDF tools send your file to a server. This one runs in your browser instead, so there is nothing to delete later and nothing to leak.
- Works offline. Load the page, turn off the internet, and it still works.
- No account, no watermark. The result is yours, with nothing added.
Frequently asked questions
- Is drawing a black box enough?
- A plain box only covers: the text underneath stays in the file and can be copied out. PdfNib's redaction redraws the page as an image without what is under the box, so it is gone.
- What happens to the rest of the page?
- A marked page becomes a 200 dpi image, so its text stops being selectable. Pages without boxes are untouched.
- Can I redact a scanned document?
- Yes, by drawing boxes. Finding by word needs text on the page, so run OCR on scans first.
- Does it remove metadata and hidden data?
- PdfNib builds a new file from the pages, so the original's attachments, bookmarks and scripts never reach the export. Tick the cleanup options in the Redaction panel to also drop links, comments and form fields, the title and dates, or to flatten every page.
- Is my document uploaded?
- No. Marking, redrawing and exporting all happen in your browser.