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How to Redact Sensitive Information from a PDF Before Sharing It Publicly

A real scenario: you're about to post an internship application form on a public noticeboard or online portal, but it still has your full Social Security Number and bank account number printed on it. Highlighting it in black isn't enough — the text is still there underneath, selectable and copyable. Redaction in Kiwi PDF actually destroys it.

The situation

The example below is a one-page application form with a name, date of birth, address, phone number — and two fields that should never go public: the SSN and the payroll account number. A note at the bottom even reminds the applicant that this exact copy will be posted publicly.

Internship application form open in Kiwi PDF, showing full name, SSN and payroll account number in plain text — The original form — the SSN and account number are both plain, selectable text.

Step 1 — Open the form in your browser

Go to the Kiwi PDF web editor and drag the PDF onto the home screen, or click Choose file from computer.

Step 2 — Select the Redact tool

Open the full tool list (the ••• / "All" button) and search for Redact, under the Edit category. Redact is a Premium tool — it's the only way in Kiwi PDF to permanently remove content rather than just cover it visually.

Step 3 — Draw a black box over each sensitive field

With the Redact tool active, drag a black rectangle directly over the SSN, then another over the payroll account number. You can resize or redraw a box at any time before saving — nothing is destroyed yet at this stage.

Two black redaction boxes drawn over the SSN and payroll account number fields, not yet applied — Redaction boxes placed over the SSN and account number — still reversible at this point.

Step 4 — Save and permanently apply

Click Save. Kiwi PDF shows a clear warning: "Redacted pages will be flattened to images. The content underneath will be permanently removed and cannot be recovered." Click Save & Apply to confirm — or Discard Redactions if you want to keep editing first.

Application form after redaction is applied, with the SSN and account number permanently blacked out and the page flattened to an image — After Save & Apply — the page is flattened to an image; the SSN and account number are gone for good, not just covered.

The file is now safe to print, photocopy or upload to a public portal — there's no text layer left to copy or extract under the black boxes.

Tips for redacting safely

Double-check every box fully covers the sensitive text — a box that's slightly too small, like a cut-off digit, defeats the whole point.
Redact on a copy of the file, not your only original — the action is permanent and the Confirm dialog says so for a reason.
Don't confuse redaction with highlighting: a highlight or a drawn rectangle from the Markup tools sits on top of the text but doesn't delete it — only the dedicated Redact tool flattens the page to an image.

Open the editor and redact a PDF now →