Action

Redact PDF

Black out matched text

Permanently blacks out text that matches patterns or keywords you set, such as Social Security numbers, phone numbers, or an account number, so the sensitive parts are gone before the file leaves your workflow.

How it works

You tell it what to look for, either a specific word or a pattern like a nine-digit number, and it covers every match with a solid black bar and strips the underlying text out of the file.

This is true redaction, not a black rectangle drawn on top that someone can copy the text out from behind. The characters are removed, so there is nothing left to recover.

Reach for it when a document has to go to an outside party but certain fields should never be seen, like sharing a statement with a partner while hiding the full account number.

Common use cases

Real situations where this node earns its place in a flow.

Black out account numbers

Match and permanently remove sensitive patterns such as SSNs and phone numbers from a PDF.

Hide specific terms

Redact named parties or keywords before sharing a document externally.

Scrub by pattern

Remove anything matching a regex across a whole document in one pass.

Redact PDF in a workflow

A simple example of where this node sits in a flow.

Detect PII Find names/orgs/addresses → redact Redact PDF Black out matched text Email outbound Send report link

What you set up

  • List the keywords or patterns (for example an SSN or phone-number format) to black out.
  • Point the node at the PDF you want cleaned.
  • Run a test file to confirm it catches every match you expect and nothing you need to keep.

Common questions

Can someone copy the hidden text back out?

No. The matched text is deleted, not just covered. Unlike a black box drawn over the page, there is nothing underneath to select or copy.

How do I know it caught everything?

Test on a sample file first and review the result. Patterns catch anything in a known format (like a nine-digit number); exact keywords catch only the terms you list.