Whiteout redaction physically strips sensitive text and images from the PDF at the file-object level — not a black overlay that can be peeled off. End-to-end encrypted for signed-in users. No account required for your first redaction.
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Draw a whiteout rectangle over any text, image, or region. The underlying objects are stripped from the PDF content stream — not hidden under a shape.
Because redacted content is removed at the file-object level, there is no text to copy, search, select, or extract from the exported PDF.
Built-in OCR detects text inside scanned and image-based PDFs, so you can identify and redact names, IDs, and numbers even without a text layer.
Permanently remove personal data, patient records, financial details, or privileged information to meet GDPR erasure, HIPAA, and legal-discovery requirements.
Signed-in users encrypt the file in their browser with AES-256-GCM before upload. Our servers process ciphertext and never see the plaintext.
Uploaded files are auto-deleted after the retention window — 2 hours for anonymous, 24 hours free, 30 days Pro.
Drag and drop or browse to select the document. Sign in to enable end-to-end encryption so the file is never decrypted on our servers.
Draw a whiteout rectangle over any text, image, or region. The underlying content is physically stripped from the PDF at the file-object level.
Export and save the result. The removed content cannot be recovered by selecting, copying, searching, or inspecting the file.
Most online "redaction" tools just paint a black rectangle on top of the content. The underlying text often survives and can be recovered with a simple copy-paste. RedaktPDF uses a whiteout approach that removes the content at the PDF-object level.
| Method | Reversible? | Text copyable? | Cleared from file? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black-box overlay | Often yes | Yes — text remains | No | Rectangle painted on top; underlying content stays in the PDF |
| Full-page rasterization | No | No | Partial | Destroys the entire text layer of every page, not just the redacted region |
| RedaktPDF whiteout | No | No | Redacted region only | Removes only the targeted objects; the rest of the PDF stays searchable |
Teams in regulated industries need redaction that holds up under audit and litigation. RedaktPDF removes content at the file level so your produced documents contain no recoverable sensitive data.
Redact privileged passages, witness identities, and case numbers before producing documents for discovery or filing via e-filing portals.
Strip patient names, dates, MRNs, and PHI from clinical notes and imaging reports before sharing with third parties or research partners.
Permanently remove personal data — names, addresses, national IDs, contact details — from PDFs to satisfy GDPR Article 17 erasure requests.
Redact bank account numbers, tax IDs, and transaction details from statements before sharing with counterparties or uploading for KYC review.
Signed-in users redact with zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption. The PDF is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM before it leaves the device, and the file key is wrapped with a key derived from your password or passkey (WebAuthn). Our servers store and process the ciphertext only — they never see the plaintext.
The redaction itself runs in the browser as well: whiteout operations are applied to the decrypted bytes in-memory, and only the re-encrypted, redacted file is ever persisted. Read more about the architecture on our secure PDF editor page.
Scanned documents do not carry a selectable text layer, which makes finding sensitive content tedious. The Pro plan adds built-in OCR that detects text inside the scanned pages so you can locate names, national IDs, account numbers, and handwritten annotations — then whiteout them exactly like native PDF text. The exported file is a clean PDF with the redacted regions physically stripped.
Every upload is transferred over TLS, stored in encrypted-at-rest S3 object storage, and deleted automatically when the retention window expires. Signed-in users additionally get end-to-end encryption so our servers never access the plaintext. No third parties process your documents.
| Account type | Auto-delete after |
|---|---|
| Anonymous | 2 hours |
| Free | 24 hours |
| Pro | 30 days |
Part of the PDF Editor Guide · Part of the PDF Privacy Guide
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