How to redact a PDF before sharing it
Understand redaction versus whiteout, remove a selected page area and check the downloaded PDF.
Open Edit DocsChoose Redact for content that must be removed
A white rectangle can hide text on screen while leaving it available to search or copy. Cropping can also leave content in the file. Use the PDF editor’s Redact tool when you need to remove a selected area from the downloaded page.
Keep an untouched original in a safe location. Work on a separate copy and check every page that contains the information you need to remove.
Mark each area and download the edited file
Open your PDF in Setly Docs, choose Redact and drag across the area to remove. Cover the entire text or image. Select Redact again for each additional area; placement tools add one item at a time.
Download the PDF when your edits are complete. The selected areas are removed from the exported pages. Whiteout is a separate visual-cover tool and should not be used as a substitute.
Check more than the visible page
Open the downloaded file in a PDF viewer and inspect the marked areas. Search for the removed wording and try selecting or copying text around the area. Review each affected page at a readable zoom.
Page-area redaction does not sanitize document metadata, embedded attachments or other pages. Check those separately. A visible cover alone is not evidence that the information is gone, and no single search test proves that every copy has been removed.