Why a black box is not enough
Most PDF editors “redact” by drawing a black rectangle on top of the page. The text underneath is still in the file: anyone can select it, copy it, search for it or extract it with a PDF-to-text tool. Court filings, CVs and bank statements regularly leak personal data this way.
This tool works differently. It renders each page to an image, paints the black boxes into that image, and builds a new PDF from the images only. The original text layer, links, form fields, document metadata and attachments are not copied into the result. It then opens the result again and reports how many text characters and annotations remain — for a correctly redacted file that number is zero.
You can also use step 1 on its own as a redaction checker: open a PDF someone else “redacted” and see whether the supposedly hidden text, ID numbers or IBANs are still readable in its text layer.
What it detects
- Turkish ID numbers (TC Kimlik No) — 11 digits, accepted only when both check digits are correct, so invoice and order numbers are not flagged.
- IBANs — validated with the ISO 13616 mod-97 checksum, with or without spaces; Turkish IBANs must be 26 characters.
- Payment card numbers — 13 to 19 digits that pass the Luhn check.
- Phone numbers — Turkish formats such as 0532 123 45 67 and +90 212 123 45 67.
- Email addresses, and any words you type, matched case-insensitively including Turkish İ/ı.
Names, addresses, dates of birth and health details have no fixed pattern, so they are not found automatically: add them as search words or draw boxes over them.
How to use it
- Choose the PDF. The tool reads its text layer and lists every match with the page number; values are shown partly masked.
- Untick anything that should stay visible, add extra words, and drag boxes over signatures, photos or scanned areas.
- Pick the output quality and select Redact and check.
- Read the check result, download the copy, and look through every page before sharing it.
Known limitations
- The output is made of page images: its text cannot be selected or searched, and screen readers cannot read it. Keep the original for your own records.
- Scanned PDFs usually have no text layer, so automatic detection finds nothing; use drawn boxes or whole-page blackout. There is no OCR.
- Box positions inside a line are estimated from the text layer and padded; check that each box fully covers its value in the preview.
- Links, bookmarks, form fields, comments, digital signatures and accessibility tags are not carried over. A signed PDF becomes unsigned.
- The file is usually larger than the original, depending on the quality setting.
- Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first. Up to 50 MB and 100 pages per run.
Privacy
The PDF is read, rendered and rebuilt inside your browser tab with pdf.js and pdf-lib, both served from mc-novatools.com. The file and the detected values are not uploaded, logged or stored by NovaTools; closing the tab discards them.
This tool helps you remove information; it does not decide what you are legally required to remove. Under KVKK, GDPR or court rules, the person sharing the document remains responsible for checking the result.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check whether a PDF was redacted properly?
Yes. Open it here and look at step 1: if it reports a selectable text layer containing the values that were supposed to be hidden, the redaction did not remove them.
Why is my redacted PDF not searchable?
Because it is rebuilt from images. Keeping a text layer is exactly what lets hidden text leak, so the tool removes it entirely.
Does it work offline?
After the page and its PDF reader have loaded, processing does not need the network.