Minitooler

Permanently redact a PDF

Draw redaction boxes on a PDF and export a flattened copy where the original text under each box is permanently gone — not just hidden. 100% in your browser.

Drop a PDF, or click to browse

PDF only · up to 10.00 MB on free · Pro unlocks unlimited size

What people use it for

  • Redact client names and case numbers from legal filings before sharing.
  • Black out social security numbers, salaries, and addresses on HR documents.
  • Remove buyer or seller PII from real-estate contracts and purchase agreements.
  • Scrub bank account numbers and card details from invoices and statements.
  • Hide patient identifiers on medical records before sending to a third party.
  • Prep discovery documents so opposing counsel can't recover privileged text.

This is a permanent PDF redactor that actually removes the text under the black boxes — not just a tool that draws a shape on top. If you have ever redacted a PDF in Preview, Word, or a free online editor, you may have discovered that the "hidden" text is still there: anyone can select, copy, or run a script to extract redacted text from a PDF. That is a real problem for lawyers, HR teams, real-estate brokers, and anyone handling contracts, discovery, medical records, or financial statements.

The workflow is simple. Drop the file, drag a box over anything sensitive — names, social security numbers, salaries, account numbers, addresses, signatures — and export. Every page is re-rendered as a flattened image with the black boxes burned into the pixels, then repackaged as a new PDF. There is no underlying text layer left to leak, so the redactions survive copy and paste, screen readers, PDF text extractors, and forensic tools alike. It is the same principle behind proper legal redaction workflows in Adobe Acrobat Pro, just free and running entirely in your browser.

Because everything happens locally with WebAssembly, confidential documents never leave your device — no upload, no server-side copy, no third-party log. That makes it a safer choice for GDPR- and HIPAA-adjacent work than the typical "free online PDF redactor" that quietly ships your file to a random server. Use it to black out text in a PDF, remove PII before sending a document to a client, or sanitize case files for public release.

How it works

  1. 1

    Drop your PDF

    Drag a PDF into the box, or click to browse. Everything stays on your device.

  2. 2

    Draw redaction boxes

    Flip through pages and drag over anything sensitive — text, signatures, faces. Undo or clear per page if you miss.

  3. 3

    Export a flattened copy

    Each page is re-rendered as an image with the black boxes burned in. The original text under the boxes is discarded permanently.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Every page is rasterized to an image with the black boxes burned into the pixels, and the redacted PDF is rebuilt from those images. There is no text layer left under the boxes to select, copy, search, or recover with a PDF parser.

Want this converter on your website?

Pro members can embed any Minitooler converter on their own site — styled to match, with no branding beyond a small credit link. One iframe, unlimited use, still 100% in the browser.

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