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BlackoutPDF
Redact PDFs in your browser — nothing is uploaded
Most "free" PDF tools make you upload the file you're trying to protect — and "redact" with a box over text you can still copy out. BlackoutPDF runs 100% in your browser (turn off Wi-Fi — it still works), and redaction is destructive: the text is rebuilt into pixels, gone for good, metadata stripped. Redact, sign, merge, compress, convert. On-device OCR for scans. No account.
Hi everyone 👋 I'm Ian, the maker.
I built BlackoutPDF because every "free PDF redactor" I found asked me to upload the exact document I was trying to keep private — and then "redacted" it by drawing a black box over text you can still select and copy underneath. That's how supposedly-redacted court filings keep leaking.
BlackoutPDF works the opposite way:
• Nothing is uploaded. The file is opened, redacted, and saved entirely in your browser tab. Don't take my word for it — open DevTools → Network and watch, or just turn off your Wi-Fi and it keeps working.
• Redaction is destructive. Pages are rebuilt into flat pixels, so there's no text layer left under the black to recover, and the original metadata is stripped.
• The whole toolkit, all local: redact, sign, merge, compress, convert — plus on-device OCR so you can auto-redact scanned documents too. It even works with AI agents (via the emerging WebMCP standard) without the file ever leaving the tab.
• No account, no email. Free for small jobs; $19/yr for everything, or $49 once.
Since it's closed-source, you don't have to trust me — the privacy is verifiable in about 10 seconds (Wi-Fi off or watch the Network tab). I'd genuinely love feedback, especially edge cases where the redaction or the no-upload guarantee could be stress-tested.
🎉 Free lifetime license for Product Hunt: use code PRODUCTHUNT at the lifetime checkout (first 150, through July 31).
One question for you: what's the most sensitive thing you've had to redact or share — and did you trust the tool you used?
About BlackoutPDF on Product Hunt
“Redact PDFs in your browser — nothing is uploaded”
BlackoutPDF was submitted on Product Hunt and earned 4 upvotes and 1 comments, placing #160 on the daily leaderboard. Most "free" PDF tools make you upload the file you're trying to protect — and "redact" with a box over text you can still copy out. BlackoutPDF runs 100% in your browser (turn off Wi-Fi — it still works), and redaction is destructive: the text is rebuilt into pixels, gone for good, metadata stripped. Redact, sign, merge, compress, convert. On-device OCR for scans. No account.
On the analytics side, BlackoutPDF competes within Design Tools, Productivity and Privacy — topics that collectively have 928k followers on Product Hunt. The dashboard above tracks how BlackoutPDF performed against the three products that launched closest to it on the same day.
Who hunted BlackoutPDF?
BlackoutPDF was hunted by Ian Schwarz. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
For a complete overview of BlackoutPDF including community comment highlights and product details, visit the product overview.
Ian Schwarz