Ember Redact is a private PDF-redaction app for macOS. It helps you find, review, and redact sensitive information without uploading your documents or sending them over the internet.
Quick Start
Open Ember Redact and select Choose PDF.
Choose a text-based PDF from your computer.
Select the categories of information you want to detect.
Add any names or custom phrases you also want to find.
Select Scan File.
Review every detected match.
Turn individual matches or entire categories on or off.
Select Confirm & Process and choose where to save the redacted copy.
Your original PDF is left unchanged.
Information Ember Redact Can Detect
Ember Redact can scan for:
Social Security numbers and EINs
Phone numbers
Bank account numbers
Postal addresses
Email addresses
Credit card numbers
Driver’s license numbers
Passport numbers
Names and exact phrases you enter yourself
Automatic detection is pattern-based and may occasionally miss information or identify something incorrectly. Always review every match and inspect the finished PDF before sharing it.
Private by Design
Everything happens locally on your computer.
Ember Redact:
Does not upload your documents
Does not require an account
Does not use cloud processing
Does not include analytics or advertising
Does not track your activity
Does not send detected information over the internet
The app accesses only the files you explicitly select using the standard macOS open and save windows.
Are Redactions Permanent?
In the finished redacted copy, pages containing approved redactions are rebuilt so the original information is not left underneath a removable black annotation.
This means someone receiving the redacted PDF cannot simply select, copy, move, or delete a black overlay to reveal the information beneath it.
Your original PDF is not modified or deleted. Make sure you share the new file whose name begins with [Redacted], not the original document.
Scanned and Image-Only PDFs
This version of Ember Redact works with PDFs that contain readable text.
Scanned documents and image-only pages may not contain text that the app can analyze. Ember Redact displays a warning when it encounters pages it cannot safely scan.
If you receive this warning:
Review the affected pages manually.
Do not assume all sensitive information was detected.
Verify the finished document carefully before sharing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is my redacted PDF saved?
Ember Redact asks you where to save the finished file. By default, the filename begins with [Redacted].
Does Ember Redact change my original PDF?
No. The original PDF is left untouched. Ember Redact creates a separate redacted copy.
Why was some information not detected?
Some documents use unusual formatting, fragmented text, custom fonts, or image-based pages. Automatic detection cannot guarantee that every sensitive item will be found.
You can add missed names, numbers, dates, or phrases using the custom-phrase field and scan the document again.
Why was something detected incorrectly?
Some numbers and text can resemble sensitive information. Review the matches and turn off anything that should not be redacted before processing the document.
Does custom-phrase matching distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters?
No. Custom phrases are matched regardless of capitalization.
Can Ember Redact open password-protected PDFs?
Encrypted or password-protected PDFs may need to be unlocked before Ember Redact can scan them.
Does Ember Redact need an internet connection?
No. PDF scanning and redaction work offline.
Contact Support
If you need assistance, encounter a problem, or want to suggest an improvement, contact:
Email: anilg@substack.com
When reporting a problem, please include:
Your macOS version
Your Ember Redact version
A brief description of what happened
The steps that produced the problem
For your privacy, do not email sensitive or confidential documents. If an example is necessary, create a sample PDF containing fictional information.
Last updated: October 3, 2026