Redact PDF files in your browser

Load a PDF, run OCR, choose a profile and export a redacted copy. All processing stays in your browser.

100% client-sideNo document uploads

1Choose a PDF

Click to select or drag and drop. Password-protected PDFs may fail to load.

Click to select a PDF or drop it here.

No file chosen yet.

Only PDF files are supported here.

2Compliance preset & auto-scan

Pick who this needs to be safe for, then let detection do the work — no manual box-drawing required for the common cases.

Maximum privacy. Hides names, DOB, IDs, contact, addresses, financial & special category hints.

Scope

Search for something specific (your name, an NI number, an address — anything)

Automatic detection catches common patterns, but it can't know your specific name or reference numbers in advance. Enter exact values here and search the whole document — spacing differences (e.g. "AB 12 34 56 C" vs "AB123456C") are matched automatically.

3Redaction style (optional — solid block is used by default)

Solid block (recommended)BlurPixelate

ColourUse a strong high-contrast colour.

Once you’ve loaded a PDF, you’ll see page navigation, zoom, manual blocks and export options here.

Start by choosing a PDF above. DocClean runs entirely in your browser.

How it works (100% Local)

Step 1 · Upload

Your files never leave your computer. Processing happens entirely inside your browser via client-side WebAssembly — there is no upload to a server at any point.

Step 2 · Redact

Select a compliance preset (Maximum Privacy or CCPA-Lite) to instantly target national IDs, emails, names, and financial data — the automatic scan handles the common PII categories for you.

Step 3 · Export

Download your completely flattened, sanitized document with all underlying text layers and metadata stripped cleanly, so redacted content can't be recovered by searching or copy/paste.

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Client-side PDF redaction with privacy by design

DocClean is a browser-based redaction tool for removing personal data from PDF documents. PDF rendering, OCR and redaction all run locally in your browser memory — your contracts, UK CoS letters, bank statements, tenancy agreements and payslips never leave your device.

After OCR, DocClean detects patterns such as names, dates of birth, national insurance numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, full addresses, postcodes and financial account numbers. Your chosen profile controls which items are automatically hidden versus flagged for manual review.

Profiles for GDPR, CCPA and social sharing

Maximum Privacy (EU/UK-oriented): aggressive removal of direct identifiers, contact details, addresses and financial IDs.
CCPA/CPRA-lite: focuses on information linked to a consumer or household, aligned with California privacy rules.
Social sharing: hides obvious doxing vectors such as faces, licence plates and direct contact channels.
Custom: choose your own rules for which PII categories are auto-hidden or flagged.

Typical use cases & responsibilities

Visa/immigration bundles while hiding NI numbers, home addresses and contact details.
Sharing HR packs, payslips or offer letters internally without exposing personal data.
Creating realistic examples for documentation or open-source repos without leaking real info.

DocClean helps you reduce risk, but you remain the data controller. Always check the exported file before you send it.

How to redact PDFs safely

Redaction should remove sensitive information from the exported file — not just cover it visually. Start by choosing a profile (for example Maximum Privacy), run detection, then review every page. Add manual blocks for signatures, photos, handwritten notes, barcodes and QR codes.

What to redact (common examples)

Email addresses, phone numbers, and postcodes
National Insurance numbers, passport numbers, and reference IDs
Bank account details (account number, sort code, IBAN)
Signatures, QR codes, and barcodes that can encode identifiers

Verify your export

After exporting, open the exported PDF and run a quick check: search for your surname, postcode, or ID fragments. Try copy/paste around redacted areas in a PDF reader. If the sensitive text still appears in search or copy/paste, redo the redaction using a safer method.

For more practical guidance, visit Resources.