BlackbarRedact a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
You don't need Acrobat Pro to redact a PDF. Open your file below in any browser, on Windows, Mac or a Chromebook, drag black boxes over what to hide and download the new PDF.
- Stays on your device
- No account
- Nothing saved
Drag over what you want hidden. Tap a black box to remove it.
Doing it without Acrobat
- Open this page in Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Nothing to install.
- Choose your PDF. The pages appear here at full width.
- Drag over each part to hide, then press Download PDF.
Adobe's Redact tool comes with Acrobat Pro, a paid plan. The free Acrobat Reader can add comments and shapes, but a black shape added that way sits on top of the words: the text is still in the file underneath.
Blackbar takes a different route. It draws your boxes into a picture of each page and saves the pictures as a new PDF. 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.
What you give up: Acrobat Pro can search a document for a word and box every match, and it keeps the rest of the text selectable. Blackbar has no search, and the new file has no selectable text at all.
Questions
Does it work on a Chromebook?
Yes. It runs in Chrome, so it works on a Chromebook the same way it does on Windows or a Mac.
Can I still use Acrobat Reader to open the result?
Yes. The new file is an ordinary PDF that any reader opens.
Will the new file look the same?
Yes, page for page, with your black boxes added. It's slightly softer up close, because each page is now a picture.
Can it find every copy of a word for me?
No. You box each spot yourself. For a long file with one name repeated on every page, plan on one box per spot.