Redact a W-9 without uploading it.
A W-9 exists to carry a taxpayer ID, so a filled one holds an SSN or EIN, a signature, and an address: exactly what you do not want loose when you share a copy or store it. Whether you are passing along a sample or cleaning up the forms you collect from vendors, KeptPDF removes what you choose and permanently destroys the text, all in your browser. The original never leaves your device. Review the result before you share it.
A box over the SSN still leaves it in the file.
Most PDF tools redact by drawing a rectangle on top. On a W-9 that means the taxpayer ID, the signature, and the address stay in the file underneath, recoverable by moving the box or copying the text. The taxpayer ID is the one number you most need gone before a W-9 goes anywhere it should not.
Real redaction destroys the taxpayer ID in the form, so a covered SSN or EIN cannot be recovered.
KeptPDF flattens each redacted page so nothing survives under the box, and it works in your browser, so the original form is never uploaded to a server. You can verify it yourself in the network tab.
A filled rectangle just sits on top of the text. Move it, switch viewers, or copy the page, and the hidden content is back.
The page is flattened to an image, so the text underneath is destroyed. There is nothing left to uncover.
What a filled W-9 puts at risk
Auto-detect surfaces the structured identifiers, so a copy you share or file does not carry a live taxpayer ID.
SSN and EIN
The Social Security number or Employer Identification Number, the whole reason a W-9 is sensitive, is flagged for your review.
Name, business name, and address
The legal name, business name, and address on the form are surfaced so you decide how much identity to keep on the copy.
Signature and date
The signature and date are a judgment call. Box them and they are permanently removed, not just covered.
Signed or scanned copies
If the W-9 was printed, signed, and scanned, KeptPDF runs OCR first so it can find and redact text inside the image.
How to redact a W-9
Three steps, entirely on your device. Permanent, verifiable, no upload.
Open your form
Drop your file onto the page or pick it from your device. It loads into your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Mark what to redact
Auto-detect finds names, dates, Social Security numbers, account numbers, and more. Draw boxes over anything else you want gone.
Download the clean copy
Save it. The marked content is permanently gone: the page is flattened to an image, not hidden behind a box. Give the result a quick review before you share it.
Permanent removal, nothing uploaded.
True text destruction
Each redacted page is flattened to an image, so the text layer is gone, not just covered with a shape. Content under a redaction box cannot be copied, selected, or recovered. Review the result before you share it.
Auto-detect the obvious stuff
One pass finds names, dates, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, addresses, and emails across the whole form, so you are not hunting for each one by hand.
Never uploaded
There is no upload step. The form is processed entirely in your browser, so the original is never part of a network request and never sits on anyone else's server.
Redaction certificate (Pro)
Pro adds a signed PDF and JSON audit record listing every redacted span, category, and page, which is handy for productions and compliance files. Anyone you send it to can re-check the fingerprint in their own browser, with nothing uploaded.
For everyone who sends or collects a W-9
Freelancers and contractors sharing a sample, and the accounting and AP teams who collect W-9s from vendors and need them clean before they go any further.