🖍 Redact a PDF properly
Drawing a black box over a bank account number feels like removing it. In most PDF tools it is not: the box is a shape sitting on top, and the text underneath is still in the file, still selectable, still recoverable by anyone who opens it properly. DocBeam flattens the page, which rewrites it so the covered characters genuinely stop existing.
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When this helps
Sending a bank statement as proof of address
The address is the point; the transactions are nobody's business.
Sharing a contract that names a third party
Cover the name before it leaves your phone, not after someone asks.
Posting a document as evidence or an example
Anything public should be flattened, because on the internet a covered box always gets tested.
How it works
- Open the document and choose Markup.
- Draw over everything you want removed. Cover it fully — the flatten step keeps exactly what you see.
- Flatten the page. This is the step that makes the redaction real rather than cosmetic.
- Share the flattened copy, and check it once before it goes.
A look at it
What happens to your file
Flattening happens on the device, and the original stays with you. Nothing about the redaction — before or after — passes through a server.
Questions
Can the hidden text be recovered?
Not from the flattened copy. Flattening rewrites the page as an image, so the original characters no longer exist in the file.
Do I keep an unredacted version?
Yes, unless you overwrite it. DocBeam lets you revert to the original.
Is drawing a black box enough on its own?
No — that is the trap. The box hides the text visually; only flattening removes it.
Should I check the result?
Always. Open the flattened copy and try to select the covered text; you should get nothing.
More things you can do
Free · No account · Nothing leaves your device