Information to Hide Before You Submit: When to Consider Redacting a PDF
Key points
- Think about whether the recipient needs it
- Black out what is not needed
- Ask the recipient if unsure
When you hand over a document, you can end up including information the other party does not need. Before you submit or share, consider whether you can black some of it out.
Examples of information to consider hiding
- A bank account number (unless it is needed as a payment destination)
- Address and phone number (when not needed by the other party)
- Date of birth (unless needed for verification)
- Other people's names or details that appear in the document
- Unrelated transactions in a statement
How to decide
- Think about what you are submitting it for.
- Leave information the recipient needs to verify as it is.
- Black out anything else that would cause trouble if seen.
When you should not redact
- When the recipient asks for the document exactly as issued, a redacted version may not be accepted.
- For contracts and official documents where the content must not be altered, do not redact on your own.
When unsure, ask the recipient first whether redacting is acceptable.
Steps
- Choose the PDF in Black Out (Redact) Parts of a PDF.
- Drag over the parts to hide, create the PDF and save it.
- In the saved PDF, check that the text under the black boxes cannot be selected.
Handling the files
Keep the original PDF for yourself and submit only the redacted one. It helps to name the files so you can tell "original" from "redacted".
Use "Black Out (Redact) Parts of a PDF" (free)Tools that go well with this
- Convert a PDF to Grayscale (Black & White): Turn a color PDF into grayscale or pure black and white, ready for monochrome printing, copying or fax. Choose the resolution.
- Extract or Delete PDF Pages: Keep only the pages you need, or remove the pages you don't.
- Compress PDF: Shrink a PDF to fit under a size you choose, for upload limits.
More guides for this tool
- How to Black Out Part of a PDF (Free, Works on a Phone)
- Why Putting a Black Box on Top Is Not Enough: The Right Way to Redact a PDF
- How to Check a Redaction Worked: Select, Search and Open in Another App
- Redacting a Scanned or Photographed PDF: When the PDF Is Made of Images
- Redacting the Same Place on Every Page: Headers, Footers and Name Fields
- Checklist Before Sharing a PDF: Redaction, File Name, Pages and Size