PDF Blackout

Black out text in your PDF for free — entirely in your browser. Drag to mark areas, then download. Your file never leaves your device.

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Drop a PDF here or click to choose a file

Processed locally — never uploaded to any server

⚠️ Note: This tool draws black rectangles over your PDF content visually. The underlying text stream is not cryptographically erased from the PDF structure — for legally binding redaction, use dedicated redaction software that removes text streams.
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How it works

Everything runs in your browser using two open-source libraries:

  1. Open PDF — Drop or select any PDF. pdf.js renders each page to a canvas element so you can see it.
  2. Draw black boxes — Click and drag on the page to mark the text or area you want hidden. Each box is listed below the page; you can undo or remove individual boxes.
  3. Download — Click "Download PDF". pdf-lib reads your original file and draws a filled black rectangle at the exact same coordinates on every marked page, then packages a new PDF for download — no server involved.

⚠️ Visual redaction only. The black rectangle is drawn on top of existing content. The original text byte stream is not removed from the PDF file. For compliance-grade redaction (legal, medical, GDPR), use software that also strips the underlying content stream.

Frequently asked questions

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read directly by your browser using the File API. Processing happens entirely with JavaScript running on your machine — no data ever leaves your device. This is the safest way to black out text in a PDF when privacy matters.
How do I black out text in the PDF?
Open your PDF, navigate to the page containing the text, then click and drag over the area you want to redact. A black box appears immediately. Repeat for as many areas as needed across any number of pages. When done, click "Download PDF" to get the redacted file.
Can I redact multiple pages in one go?
Yes. Draw boxes on page 1, then use the Prev/Next buttons to move to other pages and draw more boxes there. All boxes across all pages are remembered and burned into the final PDF when you click Download.
Will the text under the black box be readable if someone opens the PDF in a text editor?
Possibly. This tool adds a filled black rectangle visually — it does not remove or encrypt the underlying text stream in the PDF. Someone who opens the PDF's raw byte stream could still read the text. For legally binding or compliance-grade redaction, use dedicated redaction tools (e.g. Adobe Acrobat's built-in Redact feature) that remove the text stream entirely.
What file size or page count limits are there?
There are no hard limits — the tool runs in your browser so it is only constrained by your device's RAM. Very large PDFs (hundreds of pages) will take a few seconds to process on download. For best performance, keep files under 50 MB.