Redact
Redact permanently deletes sensitive text and areas from a PDF, not just hides them. Keep a copy of the original.
Automatic redaction#
- Under Redaction Method, choose Automatic.
- Under Words to Redact, type a word or phrase and click Add. Repeat for each one.
- (Optional) Under Advanced, set:
- Use Regex - treat each entry as a regular expression.
- Whole Word Search - match whole words only, so "John" doesn't match "Johnson".
- Box Color and Custom Extra Padding - the look of the redaction boxes.
- Convert PDF to PDF-Image - turns the redacted pages into images so no text at all remains behind the boxes. The text is then no longer selectable or searchable.
- Click Redact.
Automatic mode can redact several files at once: select them in the file manager first.
Patterns for personal data#
With Use Regex on, try these patterns:
| Type | Example pattern |
|---|---|
| US Social Security number | \d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4} |
| Credit or debit card | \d{4}[ -]?\d{4}[ -]?\d{4}[ -]?\d{4} |
| IBAN | [A-Z]{2}\d{2}[A-Z0-9]{1,30} |
| US routing number (ABA) | \b\d{9}\b |
| Labelled account number | [Aa]ccount\s*#?\s*\d{6,} |
| Email address | [\w.-]+@[\w.-]+\.\w+ |
| US phone number | \(\d{3}\)\s*\d{3}-\d{4} |
| Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | \d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} |
Manual redaction#
- Under Redaction Method, choose Manual. The document opens in the viewer.
- Set the Redaction Color.
- Select text, or draw an area over images, signatures or anything else, to mark it. Marks stay pending until you apply them.
- To drop a pending mark, select it and click Remove this mark.
- Apply a mark with Apply in its selection menu, or all pending marks with Apply Redactions in the panel. Save Changes applies any pending marks and saves the file.
