Redact PDF
Permanently black out sensitive content — truly removed, not hidden.
No account needed — it opens right in your browser, with your file private to you.
🛡 Private to you · files are deleted after 60 minutes
- Real deletion, not cover-up
- Search-and-redact
- Safe for disclosure
- How we protect your files
To redact a PDF safely, open it in the redaction tool, draw boxes over the sensitive text and apply. PDFVelvet deletes the covered text and image data from the file itself — unlike a black rectangle drawn on top, nothing can be copied or extracted later.
How it works
- 1
Open your PDF
The free redaction tool opens in your browser.
- 2
Mark what must go
Draw boxes over names, numbers and images — or search for text and patterns to redact every match at once.
- 3
Download the clean file
The covered content is deleted from the file itself, then sealed under black boxes.
Real deletion, not cover-up
The text and image data under each box is removed from the file — copy-paste and search find nothing.
Search-and-redact
Find every occurrence of a name, email or ID pattern and redact all of them in one pass.
Safe for disclosure
Court filings, FOIA responses and shared contracts leave no recoverable trace of the redacted content.
Frequently asked questions
Is the content really removed?
Yes — redaction deletes the underlying text runs and image regions from the file, unlike a drawn black rectangle.
Can I redact by search?
Yes — enter literal text or patterns (like ID or account formats) and every match is redacted at once.
Can redacted text be recovered?
No. The data is gone from the file; even text extraction tools find nothing beneath the boxes.
Does it work on scans?
Yes — the marked regions of the page image are blanked at the pixel level.
Is a black highlight enough to redact a PDF?
No — drawn rectangles leave the text selectable underneath. Real redaction removes the data; PDFVelvet deletes the covered glyphs and image pixels from the file.
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