Top 6 PDF Redact Tools: Effortlessly Redact Sensitive Data

If you work with PDFs, sometimes you might need to redact sensitive or confidential information to protect privacy and security. Whether you want to redact social security numbers, bank account information, or other sensitive data, it is important to have the right tools. This article will introduce you to the best free PDF redaction tools available, so you can protect sensitive information in your documents.

With the PDF redact tool, you can easily cover and hide sensitive information on your PDFs, ensuring that only the information you want to share is visible. This article will walk you through the features of the best PDF redaction software, so you can choose the one that’s right for your needs.

With a PDF redaction tool, you can remove text, images, and other content from your PDFs that you don’t want others to see. This part lists a few reasons why you need a PDF editor to redact PDFs:

Privacy and Security: The first and the most important reason for using software to redact PDF is to protect your privacy and security. By removing personal and sensitive information, you can prevent security breaches.

Compliance: If you handle confidential information, you may need to comply with privacy laws or regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, or CCPA. A PDF redact tool can help you ensure that you're following the rules and regulations.

Efficiency: Manually covering or removing sensitive information from the PDF document can be time-consuming and tedious. By using a PDF redact tool, you can remove sensitive information quickly and easily, saving you time and effort.

Professionalism: Redacted PDFs look more professional and polished than ones that contain blacked-out text or whiteout. Using redact PDF software can ensure the documents look clean and professional, which can help you make a good impression on clients, colleagues, or customers.

You already know the good sides and reasons why you need to use a PDF redact tool. Here in this section, you will see the best PDF redaction free software. Here are six of the best PDF redact tools in 2023, each with its pros and cons.

1. iTop PDF

iTop PDF is the best PDF redact tool out there. It’s easy to use, fast, and has a wide range of features. With iTop PDF, you can redact text, images, and even entire pages. It can also compress PDF without losing quality, and batch process multiple PDF files at once.

What makes iTop PDF a must-have software?

• Edit PDF smoothly without hassle
• Convert PDF to any format in high quality
• Split and Merge PDF files easily and quickly
• Add e-signature effortlessly to your PDF

Free Download

Why Choose the iTop PDF Redactor:

• Redact PDF and Save it for Free: iTop PDF enables you to make a PDF redaction free and easy. You can not only enjoy the convenience of redacting for free but also delete pages from PDF without any cost.

• Convenient Search and Redact Features: There is a search function inside iTop PDF, with it you can quickly locate specific keywords or phrases within the PDF documents.

• Super Easy for Beginners to Use: iTop PDF is a PDF editor that is designed with a user-friendly interface. Even if you’re a beginner, you can get along with this tool quickly.

• Pro PDF Protection and Editing Features: iTop PDF has both free and pro features. You can enjoy pro features such as encrypting your document with a password, adding watermark to PDF, and extracting pages from your PDF files.

iTop PDF is your go-to solution for PDF redaction. Start using this PDF redaction software free and try the convenience and security it brings to you.

How to Redact a PDF with iTop PDF

Follow the steps here to see how to use iTop PDF to redact a PDF.

Step 1. Download and install iTop PDF on your computer.

Step 2. Click the “Open PDF” button to open the PDF file you want to redact.

Step 3. Switch to the Protect tab, and click Select for Redaction. Select the text you want to redact and then apply redaction.

2. Nitro Pro

The second recommended PDF redaction free tool is Nitro Pro. It is a popular PDF editor that also has redaction features. The price plan of Nitro Pro is a bit more expensive than some of the other options on this list, but it's also more powerful. With Nitro Pro’s advanced content editing tool, you can review and markup PDF documents, fill forms and sign in PDF, and redact PDF with ease.

Pros:

• Powerful redaction features

• Excellent document conversion

• Multi-platform supportive

• Cons:

Expensive compared to some other options

3. pdfFiller

pdfFiller is a comprehensive online PDF management tool that provides PDF editing, e-signing, and form-building features. Besides being a PDF redact tool, pdfFiller can also let you compress PDF online. With seamless integration with cloud storage platforms and strong security measures, pdfFiller simplifies document management while ensuring confidentiality.

Pros:

• A user-friendly interface, easy to navigate, and redact PDF documents quickly.

• Strong security measures, including password protection and encrypted storage.

• It provides excellent customer support and offers competitive pricing plans.

Cons:

• Advanced features like batch processing or advanced OCR are limited or require additional subscriptions.

• Occasionally performance lags when handling large or complex PDF files.

4. Adobe Acrobat

Another trusted PDF redaction tool is Adobe Acrobat. It is a well-known PDF management tool that offers both text and image redaction. Adobe Acrobat also consists of a bunch of advanced editing capabilities and can be integrated with other Adobe products. However, some of the advanced features of Adobe Acrobat require a subscription, and the subscription fee is quite expensive.

Pros:

• A leading PDF redact tool trusted by professionals for its extensive features and functionalities.

• Offers precise redaction tools with options for both text and image redaction.

• Also provides a free trial version for new users to explore its features before committing to a subscription.

Cons:

• The subscription pricing may be a deterrent for some users, especially for occasional or casual users.

5. Foxit Phantom PDF

Foxit Phantom PDF is also a user-friendly PDF tool, and one of the reasons why it is recommended is that it excels in speed and performance. It has comprehensive PDF editing functions and efficient collaboration tools, which can help you redact PDF easily and quickly. If you want to use more of its advanced features, Foxit Phantom PDF's price plan is also very cost-effective. All in all, Foxit Phantom PDF is an excellent choice for your editing needs.

Pros:

• It provides comprehensive PDF redaction features, including both text and image redaction options.

• It offers efficient collaboration tools, allowing for real-time commenting and annotation on PDF documents.

Cons:

• Advanced features, such as document comparison or advanced OCR, may only be available in higher-priced editions.

6. AvePDF

AvePDF is also an online PDF editor that provides a dedicated PDF redaction tool. With AvePDF, you can safely edit PDF documents without installing software. It has an intuitive interface and additional features like compressing, merging, splitting, and converting. AvePDF also provides convenience and versatility for your PDF editing requirements.

Pros:

• It allows users to redact PDF documents securely without downloading or installing software.

• The online platform supports multiple file formats, including PDF, Word, Excel, and more.

Cons:

• There is a limit to the maximum number of pages that can be edited in the free version.

In the above parts, you have known the features, pros, and cons of every recommended PDF redact tool. Here is a comparison of the six best PDF redaction tools to help you make an informed decision.

1. How do I redact text in a PDF without Acrobat?

If you don't have access to Adobe Acrobat, there are still a few ways to redact text in a PDF. One option is to use a free tool such as iTop PDF. These tools allow you to upload your PDF and redact text. 

2. How do I redact a PDF for free on Windows?

There are a few free options for redacting PDFs. One option is to use Microsoft Word. Simply open the PDF in Word and use the highlight tool to select the text you want to redact. Then, change the highlight color to black and save the document as a PDF.

3. What is the easiest way to redact a PDF?

The easiest way to redact a PDF is to use a simple and handy PDF tool. One recommended tool is iTop PDF. It has a free PDF redaction feature. Whether you want to select text/area or to search certain keywords to redact your PDF file, you can all rely on iTop PDF.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to redacting sensitive information from PDFs, it's important to have a reliable and efficient tool. This article lists 6 of the best PDF redact tools, among which iTop PDF is the most recommended one. It offers a user-friendly interface and a variety of features that make redacting PDFs a breeze. Download it now and start protecting your sensitive information with ease.

What makes iTop PDF a must-have software?

• Edit PDF smoothly without hassle
• Convert PDF to any format in high quality
• Split and Merge PDF files easily and quickly
• Add e-signature effortlessly to your PDF

Free Download