Redact records for a FOIA request without uploading them.
Releasing records under FOIA or a public-records law usually means removing the personal details your exemptions cover before the file goes out. KeptPDF surfaces the names and identifiers, removes what you choose, and permanently destroys the text, all in your browser. The records never leave your device. Review the result against your exemptions before you release it.
A box over a name still leaves it in the file.
Most PDF tools redact by drawing a rectangle on top. The names, the SSNs, and the contact details stay in the file underneath, recoverable by moving the box or copying the text. On a record you are releasing to the public, a redaction that can be undone is the kind of mistake that makes the news.
Real redaction destroys the text in the record, so a covered name or number cannot be recovered from the released file.
KeptPDF flattens each redacted page so nothing survives under the box, and it works in your browser, so the records are 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 release usually has to remove
Auto-detect surfaces the common personal identifiers. What your specific exemptions cover, only you can decide.
Names and personal identifiers
Names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails are flagged across the record, the personal details most privacy exemptions turn on.
SSNs, dates, and ID numbers
Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other structured identifiers are detected for your review.
Whole passages you choose
Exemptions often cover entire sentences or sections, not just identifiers. Box any passage and it is permanently removed.
Scanned case files
Records pulled for a request are frequently scans. KeptPDF runs OCR first so it can find and redact text inside the image.
How to redact records for a FOIA request
Three steps, entirely on your device. Permanent, verifiable, no upload.
Open your record
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 record, so you are not hunting for each one by hand.
Never uploaded
There is no upload step. The record 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 the people who answer the requests
Public-records and FOIA officers, agency and municipal staff, and the attorneys who review a release before it goes out.