A redaction log you can hand over — every region, verified on the final bytes
Updated 22 August 2026
Redaction Log takes a PDF redacted with Redact PDF — and, optionally, the original — and produces a log as PDF and CSV: every redaction region by page, whether the text underneath is gone in the final bytes, any page that could not be fully cleared, and the SHA-256 of each document it examined. It reuses the redaction engine's own verification. Without the original, it can say that no text remains under a mark, not what was removed.
How to produce a redaction log for a document production: per-region verification on the delivered file, SHA-256 of the documents examined, and what the log does and does not prove.
UnboundPDF is a free suite of 54 PDF and image tools that run entirely in your browser — merge, split, compress, edit text, OCR in 126 languages, redact, sign, convert and archive to PDF/A. Your document is read and written by the page on your own device; there is no document-upload endpoint in the core tools, no account, no watermark and no daily cap. Every result can be checked — with the Network tab, or with the Document Passport the Workspace writes for a chain of steps.
- Redact the document with Redact PDF and download the result.
- Open Redaction Log, add the redacted PDF and, if you have it, the original.
- Run and download the log as PDF and CSV; keep both with the production.
Open Redaction Log to do this in your browser — the steps above are the whole procedure; the rest of this page is what to expect at each one.
Why a log, and why on the bytes
A redaction that only looks black is the classic failure: the text is still in the file and a reader's copy-paste reveals it. Our Redact PDF removes the text and checks the finished bytes; the log writes that check down, region by region, so the person receiving the production can see what was verified and re-hash the file to confirm it is the one the log describes.
With and without the original
With the original, the log can state what each region covered. Without it, it states only that nothing extractable remains there — which is still the claim that matters for leakage, stated precisely.
Hashes
The SHA-256 of each examined document is printed in the log. Anyone can recompute it from the file they hold; if it matches, the log refers to that exact file.
Troubleshooting
A page is listed as "could not be fully cleared". The redaction engine found content it could not remove as text (for example a form XObject); the page is named so you can rasterise it with the redaction tool's option and re-run. The log shows zero regions. The file was not redacted with Redact PDF, or the marks are only drawn boxes — use Redaction Verifier to check any redacted PDF.
Related
Redact PDF · Redaction Verifier · Bates Numbering · Workspace (the passport records the hashes too)
Frequently asked questions
What is in the log?
One row per redaction region: page, position, and whether extractable text remains under it in the final bytes; a list of any page that could not be fully cleared; the SHA-256 of each file examined; the date. The PDF version is readable; the CSV is for your review platform.
Does it prove what was removed?
Only with the original present. Without it, the log proves that no text remains under each mark — not what the text said.
Is this a certification?
No. It is a measured record you produce yourself. Whether a redaction meets a legal standard is set by the rules that apply to you.