How to Black Out Text in a PDF with Photoshop or for Free in Canva

According to the Federal Trade Commission, reports of identity theft and fraud went up from 4.7 million cases to 5.7 million cases in 2023. Although there are many ways for someone to steal your identity, one of the most common ways this happens is by a bad actor finding your personal information on an old PDF or document.

It’s easy for malicious individuals to use your Social Security number, address, financial details, or other sensitive information to cause a lot of damage to your life.

This can be easily avoided by redacting personal information before publishing or sending your PDF out into the world.

This post will cover how to black out and blur out text in a PDF with both Photoshop and Canva.

How to Black Out Text in a PDF with Photoshop

To start, open up Photoshop, then go to File > Open. Then, double-click the PDF you wish to redact on your hard drive.

This will open your PDF in the Photoshop interface.

Study your PDF and locate all the information you want blacked out.

To black out your information, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool in the Tool Bar or press M.

Then, draw a rectangle around the information you want to black out. Doing this will make it so that only the pixels inside the selected area will be affected.

Now that the area is selected, select the Brush Tool (B). In the Tool Bar at the top of the screen, make sure to:

• The Mode is set to Normal.
• The Opacity is set to 100%.
• The Flow is set to 100%.

Also, make sure your Foreground Color is black.

Now, you’re ready to paint the inside of the selected area black. Don’t worry about trying to stay within the dotted lines, as only the area within the box will be affected.

Repeat this process for all the information that you need to black out.

How to Blur Out Text with Photoshop

If blacking out information is a little too abrasive for your tastes, you can always try blurring it out for a more subtle feel.

To blur out text with Photoshop, first select the area with the Rectangle Marquee Tool as described above.

In the Layer’s Panel, make sure the correct layer is selected, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

In the Gaussian Blur options menu, adjust the Radius slider until you are satisfied with how blurry your information is. Only the area within the selection will be affected, so don’t worry about the rest of your document.

When you’re happy with the effect, click OK to confirm.

Repeat this process as many times as needed to blur out all your sensitive information.

How to Save Your File as a PDF

Once you’ve redacted your document, you may want to create a new PDF for easy distribution.

Doing this is slightly different than exporting an image as a PNG or JPG, but it’s just as easy.

First, go to File > Save As.

In the Save As options menu, choose where you want the PDF to be saved.

Then, make sure Photoshop PDF is selected in the format drop-down menu. Click Save when ready.

Your PDF is now ready to add to any email or message.

How to Black Out Text in a PDF with Canva

If you don’t own Photoshop and you don’t feel like paying the $20 a month to use it, there are free options out there as well. By far, the easiest free option for you to choose from is Canva.

If you haven’t heard of Canva or don’t have a free account yet, you can check out more info here.

To start redacting a PDF in Canva:

Click the Create a Design button in the top right corner of the Canva Home Screen –>Then click Import File.

When prompted, choose the PDF you want to redact from your hard drive and click Open. The PDF will then open up in Canva in a new tab.

Now that your PDF is open click the Elements tab in the Side Menu and select the square under the Shapes section. Once you do, a square will show up on your canvas.

Then, resize the square to fit the text you want to black out.

To change the color of the square, make sure it’s selected, then double-click the color picker above the canvas. In the sidebar, choose black.

One of the advantages of using Canva to black out your text is that you can make your job easier by duplicating the element you just placed.

To do this, select the black square on your canvas, then in the Mini Options Bar above the square, click the Duplicate button.

This will make an exact copy of the square. Place this copied square over the next piece of information you need redacted.

Repeat this process as many times as needed.

How to Blur Out Text with Canva

If you prefer to blur out your sensitive information with Canva, unfortunately, doing so is not as easy as it is with Photoshop.

Thankfully, it’s not a complicated process once you’ve done it a few times.

Your first move is to duplicate the page you’re working on. To do this, click the Duplication button in the top right corner above the canvas.

Then, with the duplicated page selected, click Edit Photo. Then, in the Side Menu, select Blur under the Effects section.

Make sure to adjust the Intensity slider until the entire page is as blurred as you need it.

At this point, you now have your original page on top and a blurred duplicate on the bottom.

From here, drag the burred copy on top of the original and make sure the two pages line up perfectly.

The goal now is to shrink the blurred page to fit the area you need blurred. To do this, click the blurred page to select it, then use the side handles to shrink it down to the exact area.

Repeat this same process as many times as needed to blur out all of your sensitive information.

How to Download Your PDF

Once you’re finished blurring your information, you might want to resave it as a PDF.

To start, click the big Share button in the top right corner of the screen, then select Download.

In the next menu, open the File Type drop-down menu and choose PDF Standard or PDF Print. Your choice depends on what you want to do with your PDF:

• Select PDF Standard if you plan to send the PDF in an email or post it online.
• Select PDF Print if you plan on printing the PDF physically.

Finally, check on Flatten PDF if you plan on printing the PDF. Otherwise, leave it unchecked.

Ensure the correct pages are selected under Select Pages, then click Download.

Your new PDF is now available on your hard drive.

Final Thoughts

If you only have a few documents to redact every few months, then Canva is the best option.

If you have multiple PDFs to censor per month, it may be best for you to invest in Photoshop, as it can be faster to redact your documents, especially when it comes to blurring out your information.