ConverterNo data leaves your browserFree · Pro $19

Client-Side PDF Redaction & Sanitizer Tool

Permanently destroy sensitive text in PDFs by burning black redaction bars into rasterized pages (scale = DPI / 72), rebuilding a zero-text-layer PDF, and re-parsing the output with PDF.js to prove zero text residue.

Nothing is uploaded — turn on airplane mode after loading to verify 100% local sanitization.
No account, no email
No data leaves your browser

1. Document & rasterization DPI

confidential-kyc-dossier.pdf (sample)

Flatten raster DPI

Active page

2. Auto-detect PII regex patterns & custom strings

Toggle automatic pattern redaction and verifier targets

SSN / National IDIBAN Bank AccountEmail AddressPhone NumberPayment Card

Additional sensitive strings to verify (comma-separated)Checked by PDF.js post-redaction verifier

Why annotation black bars are unsafe — and how true redaction works

Why standard PDF black boxes fail: Drawing a black rectangle in a typical PDF editor only appends a vector path or /Annot overlay on top of the original /Contents stream. The underlying characters remain intact in the file—anyone can press Ctrl+A / Ctrl+C or delete the vector box to expose SSNs, names, and bank numbers.

How this tool guarantees irrecoverability: Each page is rendered via PDF.js onto an HTML5 Canvas at scale = DPI / 72 (2.08×). Solid #000000 pixels are painted directly over every redaction box, overwriting the underlying RGB bytes. Finally, pdf-lib builds a brand-new PDF containing only flat raster images—and our built-in Post-redaction verifier re-parses the generated PDF bytes with pdfjs.getDocument() to confirm that 0 sensitive strings can be searched.

Result

True pixel-level sanitization @ 150 DPI

Redacted regions burned

5 boxes

Underlying text layer 100% destroyed

Post-redaction verifier

Confirmed: 0 hits

Original: 5 hits → after export: 0

Metadata & XMP

Stripped

Scale = 150/72 (2.08×)

Text is truly erased — not merely covered

Exported pages contain zero selectable text or hidden vector streams. Clicking either button below runs a live pdfjs re-parse of the generated PDF bytes to verify that marked strings cannot be searched.

ProPost-redaction verifier$19 once

Post-Redaction Verifier (PDF.js re-parse)

Baseline shown — click Export or Verify above to re-parse the generated file live with pdf.js

Verified: 0 findable strings after redaction (scanned 5 marked sensitive strings)

Proof by comparison (original PDF vs redacted export):

• Original file, before redaction: pdf.js extracted 286 underlying characters and 5 sensitive-string hits — the raw text layer was fully exposed.

• Redacted export file: pdf.js re-parsed the generated PDF; underlying extractable characters: 0. Sensitive-string scan result: confirmed 0 residual hits.

Target string	Rule	Original (control)	Post-redaction
[Control] Full text stream: original vs redacted export	Full Text Stream	Findable in original (5 hits / 286 chars)	Confirmed 0 hits (0 chars)
123-45-6789	SSN	1 hits in original	Confirmed 0 hits
DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00	IBAN	1 hits in original	Confirmed 0 hits
[email protected]	Email	1 hits in original	Confirmed 0 hits
+1 (415) 555-0198	Phone	1 hits in original	Confirmed 0 hits
4532 0151 1283 0366	Card	1 hits in original	Confirmed 0 hits
5 marked strings verified	Metadata stripped	Original total: 5 findable hits	After redaction: confirmed 0 hits

Included in Pro. Unlock once, keep it on this device.

Interactive redaction canvas

Click and drag on the document to draw custom black boxes

Page	Rule / Source	Normalized Box (x, y, w, h)
P1	SSN: 123-45-6789	(31%, 23%, 24%, 3%)
P1	IBAN: DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00	(31%, 28%, 48%, 3%)
P1	Email: [email protected]	(31%, 34%, 42%, 3%)
P1	Phone: +1 (415) 555-0198	(31%, 40%, 31%, 3%)
P1	Card: 4532 0151 1283 0366	(31%, 46%, 38%, 3%)
Total: 5	Sample document	Text layer: Stripped

Built from user complaints

What people hate about the other tools

We read the reviews of the incumbents before writing this page. Every complaint below maps to a decision in the tool above.

Cover-up boxes in a normal editor often leave the text underneath selectable. Before I send anything with account numbers or SSN, I export and paste-check.
Reddit (PDF security thread) · fake black-box redaction
In this toolDestroys underlying text streams via pixel sanitization and proves zero residue in a live Paste-Check view.
Uploading tax returns, legal contracts, or HR records to third-party web redactors means trusting their servers; turn on airplane mode to test if it's local.
r/privacy & r/pdf (Reddit) · uploads sensitive PDFs to servers
In this toolRuns 100% in your browser with a live 0-bytes-uploaded badge and full airplane-mode offline support.
Distrusting online tools forces users to print documents and re-scan them or convert every page to heavy images, ruining clarity and bloating file size.
r/pdf & r/software (Reddit) · print-and-rescan degrades quality
In this toolSanitizes redacted regions and strips hidden OCR/metadata cleanly in-browser without physical printing.

One-line difference: 100% offline-capable true PDF sanitization that destroys underlying text/OCR streams with a built-in Paste-Check verifier.

How this is paid for

Free forever, Pro when you need the paperwork

Free + one-time Local Pro

Free no signup, no card

Unlimited manual blackout with destructive pixel/page flattening
Complete metadata, XMP, form field & hidden OCR text layer removal
Built-in Paste-Check raw text & Ctrl+F residue proof verifier

Pro $19 once

Multi-file batch redaction pipeline entirely in browser memory
Auto-sweep regex scanner for SSNs, emails, phones & account numbers
Selective vector sanitization keeping unredacted text sharp
Exportable local Redaction Audit Certificate for compliance records

Pricing benchmarked against what the incumbents charge. See the full monetization map → · Already paid? Restore access

The tool runs locally in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded. Ad slots on this page are served by Google. See all 27 tools · Privacy · How these are paid for