How to Properly Redact PDFs on Mac: Remove Sensitive Data for Good

![PDF document with redacted sections shown on a Mac screen](/api/v1/images/79629799-7283-4035-bb8f-b9432abd9a83)

## How to do it

1. **Open the PDF in Preview** (double-click usually does it).
2. Click the **Markup toolbar** → select **Redact** (black rectangle icon).
3. **Highlight the text or area** you want to redact.
4. Make a **copy of the original first** if you need to keep an unredacted version.
5. **Save and close** the document. Closing makes the redaction permanent and it can no longer be undone.

## Why this matters

If you just draw a black rectangle over text, the underlying data stays in the PDF file and can be extracted with simple tools. The Redact tool removes content from the file structure itself.

## Good to know

- **Metadata** (author, creation date) isn't automatically removed — clean that up separately if needed.
- **Table-of-contents entries** that point to redacted text may remain and need a separate check.
- For complex PDFs (form fields, embedded objects), double-check with a professional tool.
- Especially important for **lawyers**, government agencies, and anyone handling confidential documents.