Two different approaches to PDF redaction. Understand the trade-offs to choose the right tool for your workflow.
Browser-based, AI-powered
Desktop software, industry standard
A detailed look at how the two tools differ. Each approach has strengths and trade-offs.
| Feature | SafeRedact | Adobe Acrobat Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free tier, $9–$99/mo | ~$240/year |
| Redaction Method | Pixel-based (image output) | PDF structure editing |
| Auto-Detection | AI-based (names, addresses, SSNs, etc.) | Pattern-based regex (SSNs, credit cards, etc.) |
| Context-Aware Detection | ✓ Yes — AI understands context | — Pattern matching only |
| Searchable Output | ✗ No (trade-off) | ✓ Yes |
| Screen Reader Accessible | ✗ No (trade-off) | ✓ Yes |
| Copy-Paste Extraction Risk | ✓ Eliminated (no text layer) | Eliminated when steps completed correctly |
| Scanned PDF Support | ✓ Yes (OCR) | ✓ Yes (OCR) |
| Installation Required | ✓ No — browser-based | ✗ Yes — desktop app |
| Other PDF Features | Redaction only | Full PDF editing suite |
Understanding how each tool works helps you choose the right one for your specific needs.
Creates a completely new file with no text layer
Upload & Extract
Text is extracted locally via PDF.js or OCR
AI Detection
Extracted text analyzed by AI to identify PII
Review & Redact
Pages converted to images, redactions applied, new PDF created
✓ No text layer means nothing to extract via copy-paste
△ Output is not searchable or accessible to screen readers
Modifies the PDF directly, preserving text layer
Mark for Redaction
Select content manually or search by pattern
Apply Redactions
Removes marked content from document structure
Sanitize Document
Separately removes hidden metadata
✓ Output remains searchable and accessible
△ Requires completing all steps correctly to ensure security
Both SafeRedact and Adobe Acrobat require human review. You can still miss sensitive information that wasn't detected or selected. AI detection helps find PII, but you are responsible for verifying the results before sharing documents. Always review redactions carefully.
Adobe Acrobat Pro uses pattern-based search with regular expressions (regex) to find structured data like SSNs, credit card numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses. This is effective for data with predictable formats but doesn't use AI/ML to understand context. SafeRedact uses AI which can identify context-dependent information like names and addresses.
It eliminates one specific failure mode: text-layer extraction via copy-paste. However, Adobe's approach is also secure when all steps (Mark, Apply, Sanitize) are completed correctly. The pixel-based approach trades searchability for simplicity — there's no text layer to accidentally leave behind.
SafeRedact's approach converts pages to images and creates a new PDF. This by design removes the text layer entirely. If you need searchable output after redaction, Adobe Acrobat Pro (or similar PDF editors) may be more appropriate for your workflow.
Your original PDF files stay in your browser. Text is extracted locally, then sent to our AI (Claude) for PII classification. The actual redaction and new PDF creation happen in your browser. We don't store your documents. See our Privacy Whitepaper for technical details.
SafeRedact is not HIPAA-certified. While we minimize data exposure (only extracted text is sent to our AI, not original files), organizations with strict compliance requirements should evaluate whether our architecture meets their policies. See our Privacy Whitepaper for details.
See if pixel-based, AI-powered redaction fits your workflow. No credit card required.