How to redact a PDF
Painting a black rectangle over a name in a PDF usually just covers it, since the text is still selectable underneath. Here is how to actually delete it, for free, without uploading the document.
Why a black box is not redaction
Drawing a black rectangle in a PDF viewer, or even in some "highlight" annotation tools, adds a shape on top of the page; the text underneath is untouched. Select-all-and-copy, or opening the file in a text editor, can still pull out a name, an account number or a social security number sitting right behind the box. Real redaction removes the underlying text and any image data at that spot, not just what is visible.
In Adobe Acrobat
Acrobat Pro has a dedicated Redact tool that marks text or areas for removal, then a separate Apply step that deletes the underlying content and can also search the whole document for a pattern, like every occurrence of a phone number. It does the job properly but needs a paid Acrobat subscription; the free Acrobat Reader has no redaction tool at all.
Government and legal redaction tools
Courts and agencies that handle sensitive documents often use dedicated redaction software, or the redaction feature built into case-management systems, because getting this wrong in a public filing has real consequences. For a one-off document, installing that kind of software is a lot of overhead.
Redacting without uploading the document
Stayput's redact PDF tool works on the document in the browser tab: search for a word or number and it finds every match, or draw boxes by hand over anything else, like a signature or a photo. Confirming the redaction deletes the underlying text and image data at each marked spot before saving, not just draws over it, and the file is never uploaded to check it against a server-side pattern list.
Questions
Does drawing a black box in a PDF viewer count as redaction?
No. It only covers the text visually; selecting or copying the area, or opening the file in another program, can still reveal the text underneath unless it was actually deleted.
Can I redact a PDF for free without uploading it?
Yes. A browser-based redaction tool, like Stayput's, deletes the underlying text and image data on your device and never sends the document anywhere.
Can I search for a name and redact every occurrence at once?
Yes, Stayput's redact PDF tool can search the document for a word or number and mark every match for removal in one pass.
Can I redact something that is not text, like a signature?
Yes, by drawing a box over it by hand; the tool removes whatever image or text data sits under the box you draw, not only searchable text.