Your file stays on your device
Redact a PDF so the words are really gone
A black box drawn over text usually just sits on top of it. The words are still in the file, so anyone can copy them or find them with search. Redact takes them out.
Open a PDF
or drop a file here
You don't need an account to edit. Downloads take a free sign-in, and you get 5 a week. No card.
How it works
Redact a PDF so the words are really gone, step by step
Redact turns each redacted page into a picture with the boxes burned in, so the covered words aren't in the saved file at all. It also clears the other places a PDF can repeat them: its properties, bookmarks, attachments and comments. The trade-off is that the rest of that page's words can't be selected afterwards.
- Open the PDF. In your browser.
- Choose Redact and mark each area. Names, TFNs, account numbers, addresses.
- Apply the redaction. You confirm once, with Sanitise document ticked.
- Download. Nothing leaves until the marks are applied.
Then keep going. Redacted? Sign it, or send it for signature, here. No downloading it and uploading it again.
Check it worked
Open the downloaded PDF, press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) and type the first few digits you covered. Nothing is found, and you can't select text under the box.
Where offices use it
- A tax return going to a lender, without the TFN
- A bank statement for a rental application, without the account number
- A payslip or incident report going to a third party
Guides and other jobs
Tools
From a messy scan to a PDF you can send
Merge PDFs
Add other PDFs to the end of this one.
Split PDF
Download a page range, like 1-3, 7, as its own PDF, or split the file into one PDF per range.
Add pages
Add a blank page, pages from another PDF, or an image as a page, wherever you like.
Delete pages
Delete the pages you choose.
Rotate pages
Rotate pages left or right.
Reorder pages
Move a page to a new position, or drag the thumbnails.
Edit text
Click a line of the PDF's own words to change it. The old words are removed from the file.
Add text
Put your own words anywhere on a page, as real text: tap where they go, type, then move them, and choose the font, size, colour and bold.
Fill and sign
Fill in a form, sign, add text, draw, highlight, or stamp APPROVED, PAID, RECEIVED, a date or your own words.
Redact
Black out parts of a page permanently. The page becomes a picture, so the covered words can't be copied or found.
Cover with white
Cover part of a page with white. This only hides it, and the words underneath can still be copied.
Flatten form
Make filled-in form fields and notes part of the page, so they can't be changed.
Make text searchable (OCR)
Read the words in a scan on this device and add them as hidden text, so the PDF can be searched and copied.
Export to Word or Excel
Turn tables into .xlsx or .csv and text into .docx, with a preview first. Best for typed PDFs.
Images to PDF
Make a PDF from JPG or PNG images, one image a page.
Add a password
Encrypt the PDF (AES-256) so it opens only with a password, with limits on printing, copying and changes.
Add fields
Put Signature, Initials, Date, Text and Checkbox fields on the page, so anyone can fill it in and sign it, here or in any PDF reader.
Request signatures
Send this PDF to up to 20 people to sign. They don't need an account, and everyone gets the signed copy with a Certificate of Completion.
There's also thumbnails and outline, search, zoom, print, download, fill in forms, add text, draw, highlight, add an image and sign. One honest limit: Edit text, Make text searchable (OCR) and Export to Word or Excel work best on typed PDFs and clear scans. A crooked phone photo of a docket will still read, just not perfectly, and we'd rather you heard that from us first.
Signatures
Sign it and send it back
Most of what gets signed in a small business is a quote, a variation or a timesheet, and printing one out just to sign it and scan it back wastes a morning. Open Fill and sign, draw or type your signature or use a photo of it, put it where it goes and download. Form fields fill in the same way. On the Team plan we keep your saved signatures so they follow you to any device you sign in on, and only you can use them.
Most Australian business documents can be signed electronically under the Electronic Transactions Act. Wills and some deeds are exceptions, so check with your adviser if you're not sure.
- Draw, type or upload a signature
- Stamp it Approved or Paid, or with today's date
- Flatten form, so filled-in fields stay put
- Keep up to five signatures on the Team plan
Privacy
Your PDFs stay with you
Nothing is uploaded
We built it on PDF.js and pdf-lib so the work happens inside your browser. The file you open never reaches us, so there's nothing for us to keep, lose or look at.
Works offline
Install it as an app and it opens without a connection, which helps on site where the signal drops out. You can open PDFs with it from "Open with" on your computer, too.
Redaction that removes the words for real
A black box drawn over the words leaves them sitting underneath, ready to copy. We rebuild each redacted page as a picture and remove bookmarks, the title, metadata or attachments that mention the covered words. The trade-off is that the rest of that page's words can't be selected afterwards.
Pricing
Editing is free. The Team plan is A$3.30 per person a month incl. GST.
Free
A$0
No card
- Every tool, no account needed
- 5 downloads a week with a free sign-in
- Optimise PDF on every download
- Install it and use it offline
Team
A$3.30
per person per month, incl. GST
- Unlimited downloads
- Save to Team keeps every version in your team's private cloud
- Share links that expire, and you can stop them
- 1 GB per person, shared across the team
- Your signatures on every device
Already on Autonome? PDF Studio is included in your plan.
Questions
Good to know
What's the difference between Redact and Cover with white?
Redact removes the words. Cover with white only hides them, and they can still be copied from underneath.
Can redacted text be recovered?
Not from the downloaded file. The redacted pages don't contain the words any more.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The work happens in your browser, so the file stays on your computer. A file only leaves it if you choose Save to Team, a share link or Request signatures on the Team plan.
Do I need an account?
Not to open or edit. You sign in when you download (free, no card), and that gives you 5 downloads a week.
Built by Autonome
PDFs are one job. What about the rest of the paperwork?
Autonome's Gadgets do the weekly admin, from supplier bills to timesheets and quotes, and wait for you to approve anything that matters. They work with Xero, MYOB and the apps you already use.