This redacted text generator replaces words with black bars, such as ██████, or with the label [REDACTED]. You can also use it as a censored text generator. The result is plain text, not a special font. When you copy the result, the hidden words are not in it.
How to Redact Text
- Type or paste your text in Your text.
- Select what to hide: Everything, Chosen words or Contacts.
- For Chosen words, click a word in the result to hide it. Click a black bar to show the word again.
- Click Copy result, or download the result as a TXT file or a PNG image.
Example: hide a name
Text: Meeting with Alex Rivera on Friday.
Result: Meeting with ██████ on Friday.
Modes
| Mode | What the tool hides |
|---|---|
| Everything | All words. Spaces and line breaks stay, so the text keeps its shape. |
| Chosen words | The words and phrases in your list. Type one phrase on each line, or click a word. |
| Contacts | Email addresses and phone numbers. |
When you click a word, the tool adds it to the phrase list. When you click a bar, the tool removes that phrase from the list.
Options
Open More options to change these settings:
- Replacement style: black bars,
[REDACTED]or asterisks (******). - Hide the length of each match: each hidden word becomes six bars. When you clear this option, each letter becomes one bar.
- Whole words only: the tool does not hide a short word inside a longer word. For example,
Alexdoes not changeAlexander. - Match uppercase and lowercase exactly: for example,
Alexdoes not hideALEX.
If two phrases overlap, the tool hides the longer phrase. The tool reads punctuation in a phrase as normal text, not as a pattern.
Why the Length of a Redaction Is Important
If each letter becomes one bar, the bars show the length of the hidden word. A reader can then see the difference between a short name and a long name. Six bars for each word hide this length.
Bars with the exact length are good for stories, puzzles and decorative text. In all modes, the words near the bars can tell a reader what you removed. Read all of the result before you share it.
Examine the Contact Results
Contacts mode finds common email addresses and phone numbers. It does not find names, street addresses or account numbers. It can also hide a long number that is not a phone number, for example a product code or a date. Read all of the result before you share private text.
Plain Text Only
The TXT file contains the result text. The PNG file is a new image of the result text, and the original text is not in the image. A very long result does not fit in one image. For long text, use the TXT file.
This tool does not redact a PDF, a scan, a screenshot or a Word document. For these files, use redaction software that removes the hidden text, the metadata and the edit history.
Your text stays in your browser. The tool does not put your text in a URL, and it does not save your text in browser storage.