How to redact an SSN from a PDF
A Social Security number is the single most valuable field for identity theft, and it shows up in tax forms, onboarding paperwork, benefit letters, and medical bills. Before you email or print one of those, the SSN should be permanently removed — not just covered with a black rectangle that can be deleted.
Here's how to find and truly redact every SSN in a PDF, for free, without the file ever leaving your device.
Step by step
- 1Open the redactor — nothing to install
Go to the PDF Redactly redactor in any modern browser (desktop or phone). There's no app to download and no account needed to start.
- 2Drop your PDF onto the page
Drag the file in or click to choose it. It loads straight into the browser tab — there is no upload endpoint, so the document never travels to a server.
- 3Let auto-detection find the sensitive data
PDF Redactly scans the document and flags 30+ categories — names, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, account numbers, dates of birth, and more — so you don't have to find every instance by hand.
- 4Review and adjust
Add your own phrases to redact everywhere they appear, click any word on the page to mark it, or drag the edge of a redaction box to extend or shrink it. You stay in control of every redaction.
- 5Apply and download
Applying the redactions destroys the underlying text and image data inside each box in the output PDF — it isn't just visually covered. Copy-paste from the saved file reveals nothing.
Why a black box isn't enough
Drawing a black rectangle in a basic PDF editor only hides the number visually — the text underneath is still there and can be selected, copied, or revealed by deleting the box. Real redaction destroys the underlying characters.
PDF Redactly auto-detects SSNs by pattern and, on apply, removes the actual text and image data inside each redaction from the output file. Copy-paste returns nothing.
Catch every occurrence
An SSN can appear more than once in a document. Auto-detection flags each instance, and if you add it as a custom phrase it's redacted everywhere it appears at once — no missed pages.
FAQ
No. PDF Redactly destroys the underlying text and image data inside each redacted region, so the number can't be selected, copied, or un-hidden in the saved PDF.
Yes — SSNs are detected by pattern. You can review each one, and add it as a custom phrase to guarantee every occurrence across all pages is redacted.
Free, in your browser, with automatic detection. Your file never leaves your device.
Open the redactor