AnonymFilesAdobe Acrobat redaction alternative: when the Redact tool is no longer enough
Adobe Acrobat Pro's Redact tool truly deletes text from a PDF, but it works one document at a time and does not replace names with placeholders. To redact a whole case file, Word, scans and emails included, before giving it to an AI, AnonymFiles is the alternative built for firms: 8 criteria out of 8 against 1.5.
What Acrobat's Redact tool does
According to Adobe's tutorial updated on April 30, 2026, the Redact tool is used to “permanently remove confidential or sensitive information from a PDF”, and it is “only available in Acrobat Pro, Premium or Studio” (our translation from the French page).
- Redact text and images that you select with the cursor, with a preview on hover.
- Find text and redact: a word, a phrase, or a pattern to find certain types of information, then mark the chosen results.
- Redact whole pages.
- Apply, then sanitize: redactions and hidden information (comments, metadata, hidden layers) are permanently removed and saved to a new file.
- Automate with the Action Wizard in Acrobat Pro, Premium or Studio.
It is a true deletion, unlike a black box drawn over the text, which leaves it readable. But Redact remains a PDF editing tool: it works one document at a time, on PDFs only, and you choose what to search for; Adobe's tutorial does not describe automatic detection of people's names. Above all, redacted text disappears under a black area: there is no placeholder for the AI to follow who is who, and no way to put the real names back into its answer.
Acrobat vs AnonymFiles: eight criteria
Here are both tools on the eight criteria of our comparison, designed for preparing a case file before an AI. Acrobat was not built for this use: its score, 1.5 out of 8, measures the gap with that need, not the quality of the tool for editing PDFs.
| Criterion | Acrobat Pro | AnonymFiles |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Local, no network call (license included) | n.c. | ✓ |
| 2. Whole case file, same placeholders throughout | ✗ | ✓ |
| 3. A firm's formats (scans, Word, Outlook emails, spreadsheets) | ✗ PDF only | ✓ |
| 4. Word and PDF redacted in place | ◐ PDF only | ✓ |
| 5. Real names restored (Word, PDF) | ✗ | ✓ |
| 6. Original/copy review, document-by-document approval | ✗ | ✓ |
| 7. Built for French regulated professions | ✗ | ✓ |
| 8. Fixed price, no quota | ✓ | ✓ |
| Score | 1.5/8 | 8/8 |
✓: yes. ◐: partly. ✗: no. n.c.: not disclosed by the publisher, scored zero. One point per criterion met, half a point when partly met, as in our comparison of anonymization software. For AnonymFiles on Windows, the detection models are downloaded once, on first processing, without any document text; on Mac, they are included.
Redacting without Acrobat: the options
Without an Acrobat Pro subscription, several routes exist depending on the need.
| Need | Option | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| An occasional PDF, on a Mac | The Mac's own tools, covered in redacting a PDF on a Mac | Check the result with our 6 tests |
| An occasional PDF, for free | Stirling PDF, an open-source editor with redaction and OCR | PDF only, no name detection, no restoring |
| A whole case file before ChatGPT or Claude | AnonymFiles | Local detection, consistent placeholders, Word and PDF in place, restoring |
| An online service | Avoid for documents covered by secrecy | The document goes to a third party before it is redacted: online or offline |
The guide how to redact a PDF: the reliable method covers the steps and the pitfalls, whatever the tool.
When Acrobat is still a good choice
If you already have Acrobat Pro and you redact a single PDF to publish or send it, the Redact tool does the job, with a true deletion and the cleaning of hidden data. Acrobat also remains the reference tool for everything else: signing, combining, converting, annotating. AnonymFiles does not replace it for those tasks.
Why AnonymFiles for a case file before AI
AnonymFiles, a French document anonymization software, prepares a redacted copy of a whole case file on your computer before you hand it to ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Le Chat. Each person keeps the same placeholder in every document: Jean Martin becomes [PERSONNE_1] in the pleadings and in the emails alike. Scanned PDFs and images are read by local OCR and redacted in the image; a Word file comes out as a .docx redacted in place, layout preserved; .eml and .msg emails, .xlsx and .csv spreadsheets and .pptx presentations are supported. The original and the copy are shown side by side, and nothing is exported without document-by-document approval. After the AI, the app puts the real names back into its answer, as text, Word or PDF; the mapping table stays on the computer, encrypted (AES-256-GCM).
Network-wise: no account, no telemetry, a license checked on the computer with no network call; on Mac, the detection models are included and nothing connects. Details are on the security and network scope page, and the published detection benchmark explains how to check it yourself.
Price: €290 excl. VAT per seat per year for one or two seats, €240 excl. VAT per seat from three seats, a quote above twenty, with no page quota; 14-day trial. AnonymFiles is coming soon for Apple silicon Macs and Windows. It is built for professions bound by secrecy: document anonymization software for lawyers, for notaries, for chartered accountants, and the other profession pages below.
Compared with Acrobat, the difference is one of kind: Acrobat erases areas in a PDF; AnonymFiles prepares a case file for an AI. It finds people, organizations, addresses, emails, phone numbers, IBANs and private dates on its own, in every format a firm uses, gives each a stable placeholder the AI can follow, and then puts the real names back into its answer.
Other alternatives
- Our comparison of anonymization software: ten tools scored on the same eight criteria, with the cost for a five-seat firm.
- Lexanon alternative and Hexagone AI alternative: the two French tools sold to firms on a yearly subscription.
- Anoni alternative and Tacitum alternative: a free local tool and a Windows tool sold for €79 once.
Frequently asked questions
Can you redact a PDF without Adobe Acrobat?
Yes. For a single PDF, the Mac's own tools or an open-source editor such as Stirling PDF can redact, to be checked afterwards with the copy-and-paste test. For a whole case file meant for an AI, AnonymFiles detects and redacts PDFs, scans, Word files and emails on the computer, without Acrobat.
Does Acrobat's Redact tool really delete the text?
Yes. According to Adobe, once redactions are applied, the marked content and hidden information are permanently removed and saved to a new file. That is different from a black box drawn over the text, which leaves it readable.
Can Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Standard redact?
According to Adobe's tutorial checked on October 14, 2026, the Redact tool is only available in Acrobat Pro, Premium or Studio. The free Acrobat Reader does not offer it.
What is the best Acrobat alternative to redact a whole case file?
AnonymFiles: it processes a whole case file at once (text and scanned PDFs, Word, emails, spreadsheets, presentations), automatically detects names, addresses and IBANs, keeps the same placeholders throughout and returns a Word or PDF redacted in place. It scores 8 out of 8 in our comparison, Acrobat 1.5.
Can Acrobat replace names with placeholders for ChatGPT?
No. Redact replaces text with an opaque area, possibly with an overlay text you define, but not with numbered placeholders that stay consistent from one document to the next, and it does not put the real names back into the AI's answer. That is what AnonymFiles does.
Does AnonymFiles replace Acrobat?
To prepare a case file before an AI, yes. To edit, sign, combine or convert PDFs, no: Acrobat remains the reference tool for those tasks. The two are complementary.
Is AnonymFiles cheaper than Acrobat Pro?
AnonymFiles costs €290 excl. VAT per seat per year, €240 from three seats, with no quota. The price of Acrobat Pro, Premium or Studio depends on the plan chosen on Adobe's website; the two tools do not meet the same need.