Removing sensitive content from PDFs

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then do one of the following:

• In the Edit menu, choose Redact a PDF.
• Choose All tools > Redact a PDF.
• Select the text or image in a PDF, right-click, and select Redact.
• Select the text or image in a PDF, and choose Redact text in the floating menu.

(Optional) To set the appearance of redaction marks, select Set properties in the Redact toolset in the left pane. (See Change the look of redaction markers.)

• Double-click to select a word or image.
• Drag to select a line, block of text, object, or area.

To apply multiple code entries to a single redaction, right-click a redaction mark and select an option. For more information, see Apply multiple code entries to a redaction.

(Optional) To repeat a redaction mark, right-click it and choose Repeat mark across pages. This feature is convenient if a particular header, footer, or watermark appears in the same location on many pages.

When you have finished marking the items you want to redact, select Apply to remove the items. Alternatively, you can Save the document and then choose Apply & Save.

In the Apply Redactions dialog, choose if you want to Sanitize and remove hidden information by selecting the toggle button and then selecting Continue.

The items aren’t permanently removed from the document until you save it.

The Save As dialog is displayed. Specify a filename and location. The suffix “_Redacted” is appended to the filename. If you don’t want to overwrite the original file, save the file with a different name, at a different location, or both.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Find text and redact, and then choose OK on the message dialog that appears.

In the Search dialog box,  specify if you want to search the current PDF or all PDFs in another location.

• To search for only one word or phrase, choose Single word or phrase and type the word or phrase in the text field.
• To search for multiple words, select Multiple words or phrase, and then click Select words. Type each word in the New word or phrase text field and select Add. You can also import a text file with the list of words or phrases to search for.
• To search for a pattern (for example, phone numbers, credit card numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, or dates), click Patterns. Choose one of the available patterns. You can change the language version of the patterns. (See Select a different language version for patterns.)

Click Search & Remove Text.

• To select all occurrences in the list, select Check All.
• To select individual occurrences, select the checkbox for each one you want to redact. Select the text next to a checkbox to view the occurrence on the page.
• To mark none of the occurrences, close the Search dialog box or select New Search to start over.
• Select the option under Redaction Mark Options to mark whole words or partial words (characters) for redaction. For partial words, select Mark Partial Word(s) For Redaction, the Settings dialog box appears. In the Settings dialog box, specify the number and location of the characters for redaction. Character redaction is helpful if you’re searching for a pattern, like credit card numbers, and want to leave part of the number visible for identification purposes.

If you selected occurrences that you want to mark for redaction, click Mark Checked Results For Redaction.

The items you selected in the list are shown marked for redaction.

To remove the marked items, select Apply on the left pane.

In the Apply redactions dialog, choose if you want to Sanitize and remove hidden information by selecting the toggle button, and then select Continue.

The items aren’t permanently removed from the document until you save it.

The Save As dialog is displayed. Specify a filename and location. The suffix “_Redacted” is appended to the filename. If you don’t want to overwrite the original file, save the file with a different name, at a different location, or both.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Sanitize document. In the Sanitize Document dialog, to remove hidden information, select Selectively remove.

If items are found, they are listed in the Remove Hidden Information panel with a selected check box beside each item.

Select Remove to delete selected items from the file and select OK.

Choose File (macOS) or go to the hamburger menu  (Windows) > Save, and specify a filename and location. If you don’t want to overwrite the original file, save the file with a different name, at a different location, or both.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Sanitize document. The Sanitize document dialog box is displayed.

Select Remove all. Specify a filename and location. If you don't want to overwrite the original file, save the file with a different name, at a different location, or both.

Select Save to save the document and automatically finish the sanitization process.

Select the hamburger menu  > Preferences (Windows) or Acrobat > Preferences (macOS).

From the Categories on the left, select Documents.

In the Redaction area, choose a language from the Choose localization for search & remove text patterns menu. Then select OK.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Set Properties. The Redaction Tool Properties dialog box is displayed.

On the Appearance tab, select the options you want to change, and then select OK:

• Click the Redacted Area Fill Color icon and select a fill color from the color palette for the boxes that replace removed items. Choose No Color to leave the redacted area blank.
• Select Use Overlay Text to select the custom text or redaction code options. Select the font, size, and text alignment.
• Select Custom Text, and type the text to appear in the redacted area.
• Select Redaction Code, and then either select a code within an existing set or select Edit Code to define a new code set or a new code. (See Create redaction codes and code sets.)
• In the Redaction Mark Appearance area, select the Outline Color icon, Fill Color icon or both. Select a color from the color palette for the images and text you mark for redaction. Move the slider to adjust the opacity of the color. Choose No Color to leave the selected area blank.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Set Properties. The Redaction Tool Properties dialog box is displayed.

Select Use Overlay Text.

Select Redaction Code.

• To add multiple code entries to a redaction code, select an entry from the Code Entries list and select Add Selected Entry. Repeat as desired. Select Remove Selected Entry to delete a code entry in the Redaction Code list.
• Select Edit Codes to make additional changes.

In the Redaction Code Editor dialog box, select Add Set.

(Optional) Type a new name for the set in the text field below the list of code sets, and then select Rename Set.

Select Add Code, type the text that you want to appear as overlay text in the text field below the list of code entries and then select Rename Code.

Open the PDF in Acrobat, and from the global bar do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Redact a PDF.
  
• Select All tools > Redact a PDF.

The Redact a PDF toolset is open on the left pane.

Select Set Properties. The Redaction Tool Properties dialog box is displayed.

Select Use Overlay Text, and then select Redaction Code.

Select a code set from the list on the left, and select Edit Codes.

In the Redaction Code Editor dialog box, do any of the following:

• To remove a code set and all of the code entries within it, select an entry from the Code Set and select Remove Set.
• To export a code set to a separate XML file that you can reuse in other PDFs or share with others, select the code set. Then select Export Set, specify a filename and location, and select Save.
• To import a previously saved code set, select Import Set, locate and select that file, and select Open.
• To rename a code set, select an entry from the Code Set, type a new name in the box below the list, and select Rename Set.

With the Code Set selected, select the code entry that you want to edit, and do one of the following:

• To remove a code entry, select Remove Code.
• To rename a code entry, type a new name in the box below the list and select Rename Code.

Right-click the redaction marker.

Select a Code Set from the list at the bottom of the context menu, and then select a code entry from the drop-down menu. A check mark appears next to the code entry when the code is applied.

Repeat the previous steps to add another code entry to the redaction.