You may have seen situations where you need to redact or remove sensitive information from PDFs. Whether your files contain personal data or business information, they must be redacted before they are suitable for public viewing.
If you do not want to distribute documents that contain sensitive information, here at PDF2Go we have a simple way to help you. In the following article, find out how to redact a PDF and how to remove sensitive content and private information from your PDF documents.
What is PDF redaction?
In electronic documents, redaction refers to the permanent removal of certain information. Depending on the redaction technique, it is possible that the redacted information may appear to be blocked or hidden in the document, but the underlying protected information may still be accessible. That is why it is important to understand the difference between blacking out (highlighting or changing the background color of text) and properly redacting the document (removing the content completely).
The blacking out tool is commonly used to hide sensitive information in PDFs. However, while this approach makes it look like the document has been redacted, you should be aware that the text still remains in the document. Drawing black boxes on top of text with PDF annotation tools obscures information rather than deleting it.
This kind of redaction is recommended if you are working with the document and only need basic protection of your personal data. For example, when giving a presentation and you want to hide certain sensitive content.
Why is PDF redaction important?
In the last fifteen years, the increase in searches for the term "redact" clearly shows a growing need to protect information. Data protection and privacy are important issues for every individual and every business today. The consequences of failing to edit documentation correctly can be serious.
What makes PDF redaction important is that many companies must comply with public record requirements. Redaction allows you to protect important information that is shared with you, as well as customer data, company trade secrets, employee data, and more. Strict data protection regulations drive the growth of data redaction. The need for this service will only increase in the future.
If you need more security...
...and want to better protect your information in a PDF file, we offer a simple and quick solution. Our free online PDF Edit tool is very useful when you need to cover residential addresses, phone numbers, passwords, or any other kind of private information in PDF documents.
Select the Advanced Security option before saving your redacted text to prevent others from editing a document or revealing potential hidden areas. Your redacted information will remain hidden and the rest of the document will not be editable. This optional setting removes all traces of the content you have blacked out.
How can you redact content in PDFs online?
Redacting a PDF with the blacking out method
Black out any information by drawing opaque areas over specific content on the page. You can apply this kind of redaction to any part of your document, including text, images, and graphics. Only the areas you select will be redacted.
How to black out content in a PDF file:
- Open our online Edit PDF tool and upload your PDF.
- Choose a highlight tool from the menu above the preview.
- Open the "Options menu" on the left and choose a stroke size and a background color (set it to black).
- Select the sections that you want to redact.
- Click on "Save as", choose the file name, and confirm by clicking the "Save" button.
- Download your newly redacted PDF.
OPTIONAL SETTINGS: As mentioned before, for more security you can select the Advanced Security option before saving your newly redacted document. It will prevent others from editing the document or revealing potential hidden areas, as all contents will be merged into one non-searchable layer.
TIPS:
- Redactions are not saved to the PDF document until you save the PDF file. If you apply an unwanted redaction, you can undo it or close the PDF Editor without saving.
- When you save a PDF file with redactions, use a different file name and indicate that redactions have been applied to the document.
- You cannot undo the redaction in a regular PDF reader. Make sure you have a copy of the original document. Once redacted with our Advanced Security option, the information cannot be retrieved.
Removing information from a PDF with the Whiteout tool
With our free online Edit PDF tool, you can also remove sensitive information. Simply use the whiteout feature to remove the content and replace it with a white background.
How to remove sensitive content from a PDF:
- Open our online Edit PDF tool and upload your PDF.
- Choose a whiteout tool from the menu above the preview.
- Select the areas in the document you want to remove (text, images, graphics).
- Click on Save as and then on the Save button.
- Download your new PDF.
TIP: For more security, as in the previous case, you can choose the optional Advanced Security setting to make sure your redacted information is inaccessible to the public.
Can I make my PDF editable again?
Yes, you can.
You can convert your redacted PDF to an editable Microsoft format (Word, PowerPoint, Excel). Our online PDF converter is available for that. With the help of Optical Character Recognition (OCR), your "image" document will be converted to editable text, while your previously redacted text will remain inaccessible. So when converting a PDF to an editable Microsoft format, do not forget to select the OCR option. Afterward, you can always save it back to PDF format.
