We’re handing page specs to an external agency this afternoon but the file has user emails and a test account log. I’m…
Open the PDF you want to redact in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Go to Tools and select Redact.
Click Find and Remove Text.
Enter the word, phrase, or pattern you want to search for in the search box.
Choose the location to search (e.g., current document or all PDFs in a folder), then click Search.
Review the search results and check all instances you want to redact, or use Select All to mark every occurrence.
Click Mark for Redaction to mark the selected instances.
Click Apply Redactions and confirm when prompted to permanently remove the marked content.
CautionRedactions are permanent and cannot be undone after saving.
Best practiceYou can customize the appearance of redaction marks before applying them by adjusting settings in the Redact tool.
Best practiceAlways double-check your search term and results to ensure all sensitive information is covered, especially with patterns like SSNs.
Save the redacted PDF with a new file name.
You can use the Find Text and Redact feature to quickly locate and mark all instances of sensitive words or patterns for redaction throughout your document.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
Drawing a black rectangle only covers the text, but the original text remains underneath and can be copied or searched. Using the 'Redact' tool permanently removes the text or image data from the document. It's crucial to use the 'Redact' tool for security, not just a drawing tool.
Redaction is a permanent action. Once you save a redacted document, the original information is gone forever. Working from a copy means you always keep the original unredacted file safely, in case you make a mistake or need the full document later.
Yes, for large amounts of sensitive data like SSNs or account numbers, Acrobat Pro has a feature for pattern-based auto-redaction. This tool can find and mark all instances of specific patterns automatically. After using it, always have someone else check a few random samples to make sure it worked correctly.