I have text and images in a PDF that I would like to redact in Preview.
Drawing a shape does not remove the underlying object.
The "Redact" feature still leaves behind residual text.
In both instances, I am able to search for text that I covered/redacted.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.3
In Preview, visit Tools -> Redact. Then just drag the + cursor over the text you wish to redact after dismissing the warning dialog. No need to draw around the text with that misleading + cursor symbol.
Yes, you will be able to search and find the redacted text string, even after you manually save the PDF, but once you quit Preview and reopen that PDF, no search will find the redacted string. Nor will a programmatic search of the PDF using Apple's PDFKit framework find that redacted text either. I see no residual text in a PDF that I have redacted, exited, and reopened.
In Preview, visit Tools -> Redact. Then just drag the + cursor over the text you wish to redact after dismissing the warning dialog. No need to draw around the text with that misleading + cursor symbol.
Yes, you will be able to search and find the redacted text string, even after you manually save the PDF, but once you quit Preview and reopen that PDF, no search will find the redacted string. Nor will a programmatic search of the PDF using Apple's PDFKit framework find that redacted text either. I see no residual text in a PDF that I have redacted, exited, and reopened.
Adding to Viking’s excellent reply re: “Exiting” Preview …
I’ve found it helpful to always manually “Save” followed by “Close PDF Document” from within the Preview menu.
Do NOT know if this is perhaps unique to my own Mac, OS, and settings …
… but I’ve found that annotations and redactions do not seem to reliably “stick” unless I do so.
How do I redact text in Preview?
