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How to redact a bank statement (so the numbers are actually gone)

Landlords, lenders, and visa offices routinely ask for a bank statement — but you rarely need to hand over your full account number or balance. The trap: drawing a black rectangle in a PDF viewer or Preview only *covers* the text. The characters are still in the file, and anyone can lift the box or copy-paste them out. Real redaction deletes the underlying text and rasterizes the region so nothing survives.

Step by step

  1. Open the redact tool

    Go to the Redact tool and drop your bank statement PDF in. It opens straight in your browser — the file is never uploaded to a server.

  2. Mark what to remove

    Draw a box over each account number, balance, or address you want gone. Or let the built-in scan flag account numbers, SSNs, and other PII for you to confirm.

  3. Apply a real redaction

    Applying deletes the text under each box and rasterizes that area, so the characters are removed from the file — not layered over.

  4. Download and verify

    Download the redacted PDF, then open it and try to select or copy the text you removed — there's nothing left to grab.

Why this stays private

  • The redaction runs entirely on your device — your statement's real numbers never touch a server, so there's nothing to leak.
  • You can prove it: open your browser's DevTools → Network tab while you redact. You'll see the file never leaves your machine.
  • Unlimited redactions are free — no account, no watermark on the result.

Questions

Is a black box in Preview or a PDF viewer enough?
No. A drawn box only sits on top of the text; the characters stay in the file and can be selected, copied, or exposed by moving the box. Use real redaction that deletes and rasterizes the region.
Can I redact more than one page?
Yes — mark boxes on any page and apply once. Scanned statements work too; the tool can OCR the page so the numbers are recognized and removed.
Does the statement get uploaded anywhere?
No. Redaction happens 100% in your browser with on-device code. The PDF never leaves your computer.