Wirebook › Glossary › Redaction
What is a redaction?
In one sentence: Removing private parts of a picture or document so they are really gone from the file, not just covered up.
A little more
Redaction means removing private parts of a picture or document before you share it, such as a name, a card number or an address. Done properly, the hidden part is really gone from the file, not just hard to see.
The trap is covering instead of removing. A black box drawn over words in a PDF often leaves the words underneath, ready to be copied or searched, and pixelating or blurring text in a picture can be matched by trying every guess the same way. Safe redaction crops the part out, paints over it with a solid colour and saves a new copy, or uses a tool that deletes the text itself, and then checks the copy that will actually be sent.
See it in action
- BonusCan a blocky picture be made sharp again?Guess a mystery blob made of just 16 squares, buy back real patches of detail with five coins, then see the original.7 min · interactive
- BonusI changed who can open my link. Does the old link still work?Check a picture and its audience before you share it, then be the guard at the door: pretend visitors with badges and forwarded links, a fresh check on every visit, badges taken away, a link replaced, and a saved copy that no website can snatch back.7 min · interactive
Do it for real
Free grown-up tools and guides on Tooltern, our sister site. They work in your browser and nothing is uploaded.