Redact a PDF: Remove Personal Data for Real
Find ID numbers, phone numbers, emails and names automatically, add your own boxes, and get a file where the hidden text is truly gone, checked before you send it.
100% private: your files never leave your browser· 0 requests to other servers since this page opened.How to verify it yourself
In short
To redact a PDF, drop the file: ID numbers, phone numbers, emails, IBANs and dates of birth are found automatically. Add names with search or draw boxes, then download a file where every page with a box is rebuilt from pixels, so the hidden text is truly gone. The result is checked before you send it.
Drawing a black rectangle over text in a PDF editor does not remove the text. The words stay in the file under the shape, and anyone can select them, copy them or search for them. Court filings, government reports and company documents have leaked exactly this way. Real redaction means the hidden information is no longer in the file at all.
CareerPDF does that inside your browser. Every page that has at least one box is rendered to an image, the boxes are painted black on the pixels, and the page is rebuilt from that image alone. Its original text, fonts, hidden layers and annotations are not copied. Pages without boxes are kept exactly as they were, with their selectable text.
Then the tool does what an attacker would do: it opens the new file, extracts every word and searches it for each value you redacted. You see the result of that check before you send the document to an employer, a landlord or a government portal.
How to redact a PDF
Step 1: Drop your PDF
The file is read on your device in a background worker. Emails, phone numbers, ID numbers such as Saudi, Emirati or Jordanian ones, IBANs and dates of birth are listed for you, already selected.
Step 2: Add names and other words
Type a name, an address or a company and every occurrence is added. Untick anything you want to keep visible.
Step 3: Draw boxes where needed
Turn on drawing and drag over photos, signatures, stamps or anything the automatic search cannot read, such as a scanned page.
Step 4: Redact, check and download
Boxed pages are rebuilt as images, the file is searched again for every redacted value, and the clean PDF downloads with no document metadata.
Zero-Server
Your document never leaves your device
People redact documents precisely because they contain sensitive data: identity numbers, salaries, medical details, bank accounts. Uploading such a file to an online service to hide that data defeats the purpose. Here the PDF is opened by code running in your browser tab, and neither the file nor the words you search for are sent anywhere.
You can check it: open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab while you redact, and you will see no request carrying your data. The output also loses the document properties, such as the author name and the software used, which often reveal more than people expect.
When to redact a PDF
- Sharing a copy of your passport, national ID or residence permit with only the fields an employer actually needs.
- Sending a bank statement or salary certificate as proof of income while hiding account numbers and other transactions.
- Publishing a resume sample, a report or a contract without the names, phone numbers and emails of real people.
- Answering a request with a document that contains information about third parties.
- Removing your home address and date of birth from a CV before posting it on a public job board.
- Covering signatures and stamps on a document you share as an example.
Frequently asked questions
Is the redacted text really gone?
Yes. Pages with a box are rebuilt from an image, so the original text, fonts and layers of that page are not in the new file. The tool then extracts all the text of the result and confirms that none of the redacted values can be found.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Detection, previews and the new file are all made in your browser, in a background worker on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is stored after you close the tab.
Which browsers does Redact PDF work in?
Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Samsung Internet on desktop, Android and iOS. JavaScript must be enabled, because the processing is JavaScript running on your device.
Why can I no longer select text on some pages?
Those are the pages you redacted. Rebuilding them from pixels is what guarantees nothing survives under a box. Pages without boxes keep their selectable text, so redact only the pages you need.
Which numbers are found automatically?
Email addresses, international and local phone numbers, 10 to 14 digit identity numbers (such as Saudi ID and Iqama, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Qatari and Egyptian numbers), Emirates ID numbers in the 784 format, IBANs and dates of birth next to a label. Always review the pages: you decide what is hidden.
Does it work with Arabic documents?
Yes. Arabic text is matched whatever the spelling of alef, yaa or taa marbuta, and Arabic-Indic digits are recognised in phone and ID numbers. Scanned pages have no text, so cover them by drawing boxes.
How large can the file be?
Up to 60 pages and 50 MB. For longer documents, split the PDF first and redact the part you need.