BlackbarHow to black out text in a PDF
Drag a black box over the words in your PDF below, then download it. The new file holds a picture of each page with the black box in it, not text.
- Stays on your device
- No account
- Nothing saved
Drag across the words you want blacked out. A box can cover one word or a whole paragraph.
Why a black highlight isn't enough
- Choose your PDF.
- Drag across a word, a line or a block of text. Make the box a little wider than the words.
- Press Download PDF and open the new file to check it.
Most PDF apps let you draw a black rectangle or use a black highlighter. That covers the words on screen, but the words are still in the file: select the area and copy, and they paste out.
Blackbar saves a new file where every page is a picture with your boxes painted in. Try it on the sample letter: box the phone number, download, then open the new file and look it over.
A US letter page is 8.5 by 11 inches. Blackbar saves it as a picture 1,224 by 1,584 pixels, twice the size it shows at, so small print stays readable.
Questions
Can I use white instead of black?
Not yet. Boxes are black, which also makes it obvious to the reader that something was hidden.
Can I black out a whole page?
Yes. Drag from one corner of the page to the opposite one.
I made a box in the wrong place
Tap or click the box to remove it, or press Undo to remove the last one.
Does it change my original file?
No. Your original stays as it was. You get a separate file named redacted.pdf.