Questions, answered

If something here isn't clear, ask us — we'd rather explain than have you guess.

Is FreePDFRedaction really free?

Yes. The free tier redacts one page per document with one redaction option, and costs nothing. Paid plans exist for redacting whole documents and combining options.

Is the redaction permanent?

Yes. On pages with a text layer we remove the text objects from the PDF's content stream. On scanned pages we paint the matching pixels black in the image data and discard the original image. Redacted content can't be selected, searched, copied, or recovered — unlike a black box drawn on top of text.

Do you store my files?

No. Your document is processed in memory and discarded within seconds. We don't retain it, log its contents, or train models on it.

What kinds of sensitive data can it detect?

You can type specific names or terms to remove, or select a PII type: Social Security numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers (checksum-validated), and phone numbers. Names are expanded to cover middle names on the same line.

Does it work on scanned documents or photos?

Yes. Pages without a text layer are read with OCR to locate the text before removal, which works on scans and on photos taken at an angle. Embedded images on otherwise-digital pages are checked too.

Is a black box in Word or Preview good enough?

No. In most editors the text remains underneath the rectangle and can be recovered by copying and pasting the page. Try it on a document you've already 'redacted' — select all, copy, and paste into a text editor.

Will it catch handwriting or signatures?

No. OCR reads printed text, not cursive, so a handwritten signature or margin note won't be detected automatically. Review the output and handle those yourself.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in your browser. You sign in with Google, upload a PDF, and download the redacted result.

Can I redact several files at once?

Not yet — documents are processed one at a time. Batch upload is on the roadmap.

Should I check the result before sharing it?

Yes, always. Automatic detection finds well-formed patterns and the terms you supply; it can't know everything in your document that might be sensitive. This is true of every redaction tool.

Try it on a document you've already redacted

Select the page, copy it, and paste it into a text editor. If the text is still there, it was never removed.