Skip to content
RedactSnap

How to redact a PDF or screenshot on Android

By RedactSnap ·

Android phones don't come with a redaction tool. Photo editors offer a pen and a highlighter, and drawing on a PDF leaves the text underneath in the file. To hide text for good, open the file in RedactSnap in Chrome, cover what you need to hide, and download a flattened copy. The file stays on your phone.

Redact a PDF, screenshot or photo in Chrome

These steps work in Chrome and other modern Android browsers. The screenshots show RedactSnap at Pixel size with a fictitious bank statement.

  1. Step 1: Open redactsnap.com/app in Chrome and tap Choose a file. Pick a PDF from your files, or a screenshot or photo from your gallery. It opens on your phone without uploading.

    A sample bank statement open in RedactSnap at Android phone size

  2. Step 2: Tap the scan button in the bottom toolbar, then Scan document. Smart Scan finds emails, phone numbers, card numbers and US Social Security numbers, and reads screenshots and scans with on-device OCR. Add any other word or number under "Also find a word".

    The Find sensitive data panel listing emails and phone numbers

  3. Step 3: Tap Redact all, or Redact on each item. Drag a box over anything else you want hidden.

    The statement with boxes over the email, phone, SSN and card number

  4. Step 4: Tap Export and confirm. The pages are flattened, so the text under the boxes is removed, and the tool checks the exported file before you download it.

    The Check and download screen reporting no redacted text or metadata in the export

  5. Step 5: Tap Download. Chrome saves the file to your Downloads folder. A screenshot or photo downloads as a PNG with the boxes burned in and no location data; a PDF downloads as a flattened PDF.

If you use your phone's photo editor

Google Photos, Samsung Gallery and the screenshot editors on most phones can draw on an image. If you use one, keep these limits in mind:

  • Use the pen at full opacity with thick strokes, not the highlighter. Highlighter ink is translucent.
  • Scribbled lines can leave gaps. Zoom in and check that no part of a letter shows through.
  • Update your phone. In 2023 the "aCropalypse" bug showed that the Markup tool on Google Pixel phones had been leaving the original, uncropped image data at the end of edited screenshots since 2018. Google fixed it in the March 2023 security update, but screenshots edited before then can still hold the original.
  • Your gallery may keep the original version of an edited photo. Share the edited copy, not the original.

Check before you send

  • Open the downloaded file, not the one in the editor, and zoom in on every box.
  • In a PDF, search for a word you hid. If it is found, the redaction didn't work.
  • If a password or code was ever visible in a shared screenshot, change it.

Try it on your own file

The tool opens PDFs, PNGs and JPGs in your browser. The file is not uploaded.

Redact a PDF or image

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Does Android have a built-in redaction tool?

No. Photo editors and PDF viewers can draw on a file, but drawing doesn't remove text from a PDF, and highlighters are translucent.

Do I need to install an app?

No. RedactSnap runs in Chrome. You can add it to your home screen from Chrome's menu if you use it often.

Does it need an internet connection?

To load the page, yes. Redaction itself runs on your phone. The OCR files and the optional names model are downloaded the first time you use them.

Is it free?

Yes, for up to 3 exports and 3 Smart Scans a day, with no account.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The file is read and redacted in your browser on the phone. There is no upload.