Redact sensitive content

Permanently black out text, images or any area so the content cannot be recovered.

Applies to Android 8.0 or later

Redaction permanently removes content from a PDF. The blacked-out area cannot be recovered, even by copying the text or examining the file structure. Use it to hide personal information, confidential data or anything you do not want to share.

Redact an area

Select the Security tool group and tap Redact in the dock.
Drag to draw a red rectangle over the area you want to redact.
You can draw multiple redaction rectangles across multiple pages before applying.
Tap Apply redactions to permanently remove the content.

Once you apply and save, the redacted content is gone. Use Undo to reverse if you have not yet saved.

Redact text by search

You can find all occurrences of a word or phrase and redact them all at once:

Open the Redact tool and look for the Search & Redact option.
Type the text to find. All matches are marked with red boxes.
Review the matches, then tap/click Apply redactions.

Difference between Redact and Erase Text

	Redact	Erase Text
Content removed	Yes — permanently	No — only covered visually
Recoverable	No	Yes (the content is still in the file)
Use for	Personal data, confidential info	Simple visual corrections

Use Redact whenever you need to share the document and the hidden content must not be recoverable.

After redacting, consider also clearing the document metadata under Tools › Edit Metadata to remove author name and other identifying information.