Practical guide · GDPR
How to redact personal data in a PDF without recovery
The difference between covering and deleting text in a PDF, how to test whether a redaction is real, and what to do about metadata, layers and attachments.
Every so often an official document is published with "redacted" data that anyone could recover by selecting the text. It comes from confusing a graphic layer with deleting content.
Covering is not deleting
A black rectangle adds a graphic object; the text stays in the file and can be copied, searched or extracted.
Correct approaches
Content replacement (best: keeps the file accessible), rasterisation (removes text but breaks accessibility) and regenerating a clean PDF with no inherited history.
A 60-second check
- Copy everything into a plain text editor.
- Search for surnames, ID numbers and emails.
- Review file properties.
- Look for attachments, comments and layers.
- Open it in a different viewer.
What people forget
XMP metadata, OCR text layers, embedded thumbnails, bookmarks containing names, attachments and visible signatures.
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