Sharing a contract publicly but need to hide the dollar figures? Sending a court document where personal details must be obscured? Highlighting in your PDF reader doesn't cut it — anyone can remove a highlight. Redaction permanently covers content with an opaque rectangle that can't be unmasked.
The Redact PDF tool stamps black rectangles over any region you specify. Here's how.
Step-by-step: how to use Redact PDF
- Open the tool. Visit ilovepdf.cyou/redact-pdf.
- Upload the PDF. Drop the file. The tool reads dimensions automatically.
- Set redaction area. Enter X/Y position and width/height as percentages, e.g. X=10, Y=40, W=30, H=10.
- Choose pages. Type a page number (e.g.
1) orallto redact every page. - Process and download. The redacted PDF saves as
ILovePDF-redact.pdf.
Why use Redact PDF?
- Permanent. Redacted areas are filled with opaque rectangles — they can't be uncovered by reader tricks.
- Per-page targeting. Redact one specific page or apply the same redaction to all pages in one pass.
- Compliance-friendly. Useful for GDPR, HIPAA and litigation-discovery workflows that mandate redaction.
- Non-destructive on original. Your input PDF is never modified — only the new redacted copy carries the rectangles.
Common use cases
For Legal teams
Redact privileged information before producing a discovery PDF for opposing counsel.
For HR
Black out salary and SSN data when sharing employee records for an audit.
For Journalists
Protect source identities by redacting names and locations in leaked documents.
Pro tips for the best results
1. Test on a copy
Always redact on a duplicate file — never on the only copy of the original.
2. Use precise percentages
Measure the target area in your viewer and translate to percentage of page width/height.
3. Combine with OCR removal
For text-searchable PDFs, also rasterise via PDF to JPG then back to PDF to remove residual text.
4. Verify before sharing
Always open the redacted PDF in a fresh viewer and try to copy the redacted area to confirm nothing remains.
Frequently asked questions
Can the redaction be reversed?
No. The black rectangles are rendered into the page — they can't be peeled away.
Does it remove the underlying text from the PDF stream?
The rectangle covers the visible content. For maximum security against text-extraction tools, also rasterise the PDF after redacting.
Can I use a colour other than black?
Currently black only. Colour customisation is planned.
Can I redact multiple areas at once?
One area per run. Process the file multiple times for multiple redactions.
Wrapping up
Redact PDF is one of 35+ free tools in the ILovePDF suite — built for everyday document tasks that shouldn't require expensive software or a paid subscription. Files are processed securely, deleted within minutes, and never used to train models. Give it a spin: open Redact PDF and see how fast it works.
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