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Drawing a black box over text in most PDF editors doesn't actually remove the underlying text — it just covers it. Proper redaction permanently removes the content from the file. Here's how to do it correctly. ## Why "Drawing a Black Box" Isn't Redaction In many PDF editors, a black rectangle is just a shape floating above the text. The text is still in the file. Anyone can: - Select all text (Ctrl+A) and copy — the covered text copies with it - Remove the black shape in an editor and read what's underneath - View the document's underlying text stream This is how some high-profile government document leaks have occurred — "redacted" PDFs where the text wasn't actually removed. ## How to Properly Redact PDF Text 1. Go to [pdfhub24.com/redact-pdf](/redact-pdf) 2. Upload your PDF 3. Draw selection boxes over the text or areas you want to permanently remove 4. Click **Apply Redactions** 5. Download — the content is permanently deleted, not just covered ## Verifying Your Redactions After downloading the redacted PDF: 1. Try to select text in and around the redacted areas 2. Copy all text (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C) and paste into a text editor 3. Search (Ctrl+F) for words you redacted If proper redaction was applied, the redacted content won't appear in any of these tests. ## What Gets Redacted The redaction selection tool removes everything in the selected area — text, images, and any other content. The area is replaced with a solid black mark that is genuinely empty underneath. ## Common Redaction Scenarios **GDPR compliance:** Removing personal data before sharing documents in response to subject access requests. **Legal discovery:** Removing privileged sections of documents before production. **HR documents:** Removing other employees' personal information before sharing a file with an individual. **Contract sharing:** Removing pricing or commercial terms before sharing contracts with parties who shouldn't see them.