Anonymize PDF
Find emails, phone numbers, cards, IDs and your own terms (optionally with AI), black them out, and flatten each page to an image so the underlying text is truly removed — all in your browser.
Drop a PDF or images here or click to choose
PDF or JPG/PNG images. Detection runs in your browser; pages are flattened to images so redacted text is gone for good.
Reads text inside scanned PDFs and image files so it can be redacted too — slower, but lets you anonymize documents with no text layer.
Local mode runs in your browser and downloads the OCR engine on first use (reads this site language and English). AI mode reads any language or handwriting but sends the page image to our AI service.
Optional. The extracted text (not the file) is sent to our AI service to find names, addresses and other personal data. Leave off to stay 100% on your device.
⚠️ Always review the result; if anything was missed, add it as a custom term and run the original file again.
Need to share a PDF without giving away personal details? The Anonymize PDF tool finds and removes sensitive information for you, right in your browser. It scans the text for emails, phone numbers, credit card and Social Security numbers, IBANs, IP addresses and long ID numbers, plus any names or words you add yourself, then blacks them out. Scanned pages and photos work too — built-in OCR reads them locally, or AI OCR can take over for tricky documents and other languages. Crucially, every page is flattened to an image afterwards, so the hidden text is genuinely gone, not just covered with a box. By default nothing is uploaded, and it's completely free with no sign-up.
How to Anonymize PDF
- Drop in your PDF — or PNG/JPG/WebP images of documents — and choose which data types to redact (emails, phone numbers, card and ID numbers, IBANs, IP addresses, and so on). Add any extra names or words you want removed.
- For scanned pages or images, pick an OCR mode: local reads them privately in your browser, AI reads any language but sends the page image. Optionally turn on AI deep detection to also catch names and addresses from the extracted text.
- Run the tool, then review the downloaded result. Each page is rendered to an image with the matches blacked out, so the redacted text can't be copied or recovered. If anything was missed, add it as a custom term and run the original file again.
Frequently asked questions
Is anything uploaded? Is it private?
By default, no. The standard detection and the local OCR mode run entirely in your browser, so your file never leaves your device. Two optional features send data only when you switch them on: AI deep detection sends the extracted text (not the file), and AI OCR sends an image of each scanned page so it can be read. The redaction itself always happens locally. For a fully private, in-browser job, leave both AI options off.
Is the redacted text really removed, or just hidden behind a black box?
Really removed. After marking the matches, the tool flattens every page to an image and rebuilds the PDF from those images. Because the original text layer is discarded, there's nothing underneath the black boxes to select, copy, or recover, unlike simply drawing rectangles over the words.
What kinds of personal data does it detect?
Out of the box it recognises email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers (validated so random long numbers aren't flagged), Social Security numbers, IBANs, IP addresses, and generic ID, passport, or tax numbers. You can also add your own list of names or keywords to remove, and the optional AI mode extends coverage to names and street addresses.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes — enable OCR. A scan is a picture with no text layer, so turn on the OCR option: local mode reads it entirely in your browser (it downloads a language pack for this site's language plus English), while AI mode reads any language and even handwriting, but sends an image of the page to the AI service. Image files (PNG, JPG, WebP) are accepted too and switch local OCR on automatically.
Is it free?
Yes. Anonymizing PDFs is completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark, and no file-size paywall. Since the default mode runs in your browser, the practical limit is your device's memory rather than an upload cap.
How do I make sure everything is redacted?
Open the downloaded file and review it. Automatic detection can miss rotated text or unusual formats, so add anything it missed as a custom term and run the original file again — not the redacted copy, which has no text layer left to search. For scans or images, enable OCR: local stays private, AI reads any language but sends the page image. The redaction is permanent because each page is flattened to an image.
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