How to Redact a PDF on iPhone (Permanently, No App)
Permanently black out sensitive text and images in a PDF on iPhone in Safari — no app download, no account. True redaction, not just a black box overlay.
iOS Markup lets you draw black shapes over PDF text — but this is not redaction, it's just an overlay. The text remains in the file. FixMyPDF's redaction tool in Safari permanently removes the content beneath the black boxes, true redaction on iPhone.
Why iOS Markup Is Not Real Redaction
Drawing a black rectangle in iOS Markup adds it as an annotation layer on top of the PDF content — the text underneath is still in the file, selectable and copyable by anyone who removes the annotation. Our redaction tool renders the page without the underlying content, making removal permanent.
Open Safari and Go to the Redact Tool
Open Safari on your iPhone and navigate to fixmypdf.in/tools/redact. Tap "Select PDF" to load your document from Files. The tool shows each page with touch-based selection for marking redaction areas.
Draw Redaction Boxes by Touch
Tap and drag to draw a redaction box over sensitive content. You can mark multiple areas across multiple pages before applying. Each box shows the content it will remove in a preview — double-check you've covered everything that needs redacting.
Apply and Download
Tap "Apply Redactions" — each marked area is permanently removed and filled with a solid black rectangle in the page content layer. The redacted PDF downloads to your Downloads folder. Verify by trying to select text in the redacted areas — nothing should be selectable.
Use Case: Sharing Documents with Personal Data on iPhone
You receive a medical, legal, or HR document that you need to share with a third party — but it contains personal information not relevant to the third party. Redact those sections on your iPhone before forwarding. The sensitive data is permanently gone from the version you share.
Privacy During Redaction on iPhone
Your PDF is processed in Safari on your iPhone — the unredacted content never leaves your device to reach any server. This is particularly important since the whole point of redaction is protecting sensitive content, so the redaction process itself must be private.
After Redacting on iPhone
Also consider removing metadata that might reveal information about the document's origin using our metadata remover on iPhone. Then compress the redacted PDF before sharing — both tools are free in Safari.
Try Redact PDF Now — Free
Browser-based, private, and instant. No account or software required.
Open Redact PDF