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Free PDF Redaction Tool

Redact PDF — Remove Sensitive Text Free

Permanently remove sensitive words, names, and phrases from any PDF. True data removal — not just a black box overlay. No signup.

MergeAny combines two or more JPG, JPEG, or PNG images into a single file directly in your browser — vertically, horizontally, or in a grid. There is no upload limit, no watermark, and your files are deleted from our servers seconds after merging. Works on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android with no install and no signup.

Merge JPG Files NowWorks on desktop & mobile
Files deleted instantly after merge
Merge up to 20 images at once
Simple 3-step process

How to Redact a PDF

01

Upload Your PDF

Select any digital PDF up to 50 MB that contains text you want to permanently remove.

02

Enter Keywords to Redact

Type the words, phrases, or names to remove. Separate multiple terms with commas.

03

Download Redacted PDF

Click Redact PDF — all occurrences are permanently removed and a clean PDF is returned.

True Redaction vs. Black Box Overlay

Many people "redact" documents by drawing a black rectangle over sensitive text in a PDF editor. This is not true redaction — the original text remains in the file and can be revealed by selecting text, using Find & Replace, or inspecting the PDF's content stream with a text editor.

MergeAny uses PyMuPDF's built-in redaction API, which permanently removes the text from the content stream. The data is gone — not hidden. This is the same approach used by professional legal and compliance redaction tools.

Important note: Redaction only works on PDFs with a selectable text layer (digital PDFs). Scanned PDFs store pages as images — the text is not machine-readable and cannot be found by keyword. If you need to redact a scanned PDF, OCR processing is required first to add a text layer.

Why choose MergeAny

PDF Redaction Features

Permanently remove sensitive data from any PDF document.

Permanent Redaction

Uses PyMuPDF's native redaction API — the text data is removed from the content stream entirely, not just covered.

All Occurrences Removed

Every instance of each keyword on every page is found and permanently redacted, case-insensitively.

Multi-Keyword Support

Enter multiple terms separated by commas. Full phrases are supported as well as single words.

Private Processing

Files are processed in isolated server memory and deleted immediately after download.

Black Redaction Marks

Redacted areas are filled with solid black — the industry standard for document redaction.

Browser-Based

No installation required. Works on any device and operating system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — MergeAny uses PyMuPDF's built-in redaction API which permanently removes both the visible text and the underlying data from the content stream. Unlike adding a black rectangle on top, proper redaction removes the data itself so it cannot be recovered by selecting text, using Find, or inspecting the PDF structure.