How to Redact PII From a PDF
Without Adobe Acrobat

Redacting a PDF sounds simple — draw a black box over the sensitive bit, save, done. The problem is that in most PDF tools, that black box is just a visual layer sitting on top of the original text. The text is still in the file, selectable and copyable by anyone who receives the document. Real redaction permanently removes the data. Here's how to do it for free.

Method 1: LibreOffice Draw (Free Desktop — Most Reliable)

LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Its Draw component can import PDFs and export them as flattened files with redactions baked in.

1. Download LibreOffice from libreoffice.org if you don't have it
2. Open the PDF — right-click the file → Open With → LibreOffice Draw
3. Select the Rectangle tool from the toolbar (or press R)
4. Draw a rectangle over the text you want to redact
5. Fill it black — right-click the rectangle → Area → select black fill, no border
6. Export as PDF — File → Export as PDF → click Export
7. Verify the redaction — open the exported PDF, try to select and copy the covered text

Pros: Free, fully local, no upload, works on any OS, reliable permanent redaction when exported correctly.
Cons: PDFs with complex formatting may render imperfectly. Not ideal for scanned/image-based PDFs.

Method 2: PDFgear (Free Desktop — Easiest)

PDFgear is a newer free PDF editor for Windows and Mac with a cleaner interface than LibreOffice for PDF-specific tasks. It includes a dedicated redaction tool.

1. Download PDFgear from pdfgear.com
2. Open your PDF in PDFgear
3. Go to Edit → Redact
4. Drag to select the text or area to redact
5. Click Apply Redactions
6. Save the file

Pros: Clean interface, purpose-built redaction tool, easy to use.
Cons: Windows and Mac only, requires installation, newer product so less battle-tested than LibreOffice.

Method 3: Foxit PDF Editor Free Tier

Foxit PDF Editor has a free tier that includes basic redaction. It's a desktop application for Windows and Mac.

1. Download Foxit PDF Editor from foxit.com (free tier)
2. Open your document
3. Go to Protect → Mark for Redaction
4. Select the content to redact
5. Click Apply Redactions

Pros: Purpose-built redaction workflow, widely used in legal and enterprise settings.
Cons: Free tier has limitations, some features require paid upgrade.

What About Online Tools?

There are several browser-based PDF redaction tools — iLovePDF, Smallpdf, Redactable and others. They work, but they all upload your file to their server for processing. For documents containing:

• Personal data (names, emails, addresses, dates of birth)
• Medical or health information
• Legal documents with privileged content
• Financial records

...uploading to a third-party server creates a privacy and compliance risk. Stick to desktop tools for sensitive documents.

For Text Logs and Code: Use the Log Sanitizer

If what you're trying to redact is a text-based log file, stack trace, or code snippet rather than a formatted PDF, a desktop PDF editor is overkill. ResourceCentral's Log Sanitizer automatically detects and replaces emails, IPs, API keys and tokens in plain text — entirely in your browser, nothing uploaded.

How to Verify Your Redaction Worked

Always test before sending. After saving/exporting your redacted PDF:

1. Open the exported file (not the original)
2. Try to click and select text in the redacted area
3. Press Ctrl+A (Select All) and Ctrl+C (Copy)
4. Paste into a text editor — the redacted text should not appear
5. Try Ctrl+F (Find) and search for a word you redacted — it should return no results

If the text is still selectable, the redaction is only visual and the document is not safe to share.

FAQ