Free tool · Windows and macOS
Redact a PDF for real.
Black boxes drawn on top of text can be removed in seconds. Paperwing deletes the text and graphics under each redaction from the page itself.
How to redact a PDF properly, with Paperwing
- Open Paperwing and drop your PDF on the window, or press Ctrl+O (⌘O on a Mac).
- Open All tools and choose Redact a PDF.
- Mark the text or areas you want removed.
- Apply the redactions. The content under each mark is deleted from the page.
- Run Sanitize PDF to strip metadata, hidden data and scripts too, then save a copy with Shift+Ctrl+S.
What you can do
- Remove text and graphics permanently, not just cover them
- Strip metadata such as author and title with Remove Metadata
- Remove annotations, scripts, attachments and more with Sanitize PDF
- Flatten the result so nothing is left editable
Why do it on your computer
Redaction is for the documents that matter most: court filings, HR records, medical files. Paperwing does it on your computer, so the unredacted version never leaves it.
Paperwing is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows and macOS with more than 100 PDF tools. It works offline, there’s no account, and every tool is free. Download it or browse all the tools.
Questions
How do I know the text is really gone?
After applying redactions, try selecting or searching for the removed text: there’s nothing left to find. Save as a new file and keep the original somewhere safe.
Does redaction remove metadata?
No. Redaction removes page content. Use Sanitize PDF or Remove Metadata to strip the author, title and other hidden data.
Related tools
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