Covering vs redacting a PDF: what's the difference?
Covering draws a block over text; the original text stays in the file and can still be copied. Redacting removes the text, pictures and lines under the marked area from the file itself. If the information must not get out — ID numbers, account numbers, addresses — redact it.
Redact a PDF in ORDO
Opens and edits the file in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. Free, no sign-up.
Open Edit PDFHow to tell if something was deleted or only hidden
- Open the edited PDF in any PDF viewer.
- Select the text where the block is, copy it (Ctrl or Cmd + C) and paste it into a notes app.
- If the original text appears, it was only hidden. Try searching for the word too (Ctrl or Cmd + F).
- If there is nothing to copy and nothing to find, it was removed from the file.
What covering is good for
Covering is fine when the point is looks — tidying a layout, hiding a draft note from view, blanking a field before you type new text. It's the wrong tool for anything confidential, which is why ORDO's Cover tool says so wherever you use it.
What Redact does to the file
- Text under the marked area is removed from the page, not just painted over.
- Pictures under it are overwritten in the file — or removed if ORDO can't decode them, rather than left in.
- Lines and shapes under it are clipped or removed.
- Black boxes are drawn where you marked.
- Then ORDO re-reads the new file on its own and refuses the download if anything under the marks can still be found.
Redacting in ORDO
- Open Edit PDF and choose your PDF.
- Choose Redact and drag over what must go. Marks can be undone until you download.
- Press Download PDF and confirm. Your original file isn't changed.
- Read the report in the Done dialog before you pass the new file on.
What you still have to check yourself
The same name or number can appear elsewhere in a file. ORDO reports where the removed text also appears; it doesn't clean those places.
- Document properties (title, author), XMP metadata, bookmarks, notes, form fields and attached files.
- Your original file still holds everything. Keep it private, or delete it when you no longer need it.
- Before sending, open the new file and try to select and search for the removed words.
Is my file uploaded?
No. This tool runs inside your browser on this device. ORDO's servers never receive the file, and the page's security policy blocks it from sending file data anywhere.
PrivacyLimits worth knowing
- Redact works on the PDF you download. It doesn't reach copies you already sent.
- If ORDO can't decode a picture it removes the whole picture, not only the marked part.
- On a scanned page the text is part of a picture. ORDO overwrites the picture under the marks but doesn't read scans, so you mark the area by eye.
- Password-protected PDFs need the password removed first.