See the text inside a PDF
This lists every piece of text a PDF will hand over, exactly as it comes out. Use it before you send out a redacted document. Free, with no account. The file is read inside your browser and never uploaded.
Reading…
What came out
Read through it for any name or number you meant to hide. If it appears here, that PDF still carries the text under the black box.
Use it to check a redaction
Putting a black rectangle on a PDF does not remove the text underneath. The page looks solid black, but the words copy out perfectly well. Some free redaction services work exactly this way — we tested that ourselves in September 2026.
Put the redacted PDF in here and look for the names and numbers you meant to hide. If they show up, that file is not ready to send.
Other things it is good for
- Copying text out of a PDF. It comes out page by page, so you can take what you need
- Telling whether a PDF is a scan. No text means the pages are images
- Finding a particular word. Type it into the filter and only those lines remain
How to use it
- Drag a PDF in, or click to choose one.
- The text appears, grouped by page.
- Type into the filter box if you are looking for something specific.
Questions
Is my file uploaded?
No. It is read entirely inside your browser, and this site has no way of receiving a PDF in the first place.
Can I check that for myself?
Yes. Open the page, then disconnect from the internet. You can still choose a PDF and read it all the way through.
One exception: a PDF that does not embed its fonts may need a character map fetched mid-read. That part needs a connection.
Nothing came out at all. Is the file broken?
No — the pages are images. That is what a scan looks like, and it is also what a properly redacted PDF looks like.
To read text out of images, use Read text from images.
How do I redact something safely?
The text itself has to go. The reliable way is to turn the page into an image, which leaves no text layer behind — nothing to copy, nothing to search.
Some services do this for free. Our blog has what we found when we tested them.
Note that redacting safely makes the whole document unsearchable. That is inherent to the method, not a fault of any particular tool.
Can it open password-protected PDFs?
No. Remove the password first.
How large a file can it take?
Up to 100MB. Long documents take a while, and the progress is shown as it goes.
What is free, and what is limited?
Nothing is limited. No usage cap, no account tier, no charge later. The work happens on your own device, so there is no reason for us to meter it.