# Scrub & redact a scan — strip metadata, black out, no upload

> Strip camera EXIF/GPS metadata and paint over sensitive regions before sharing a scan. Redactions are burned into the image, locally — nothing uploaded.

Strip camera EXIF/GPS metadata and paint permanent black boxes over sensitive regions before you share a scan. Redactions are burned into the image on your device, so the removed content is truly gone and nothing is uploaded.

Sharing a scan can leak two ways: the visible content you meant to hide, and the invisible metadata your camera attached. Scrub & redact handles both — permanent black boxes over sensitive regions, and a clean strip of EXIF/GPS so the file doesn't broadcast where it was taken.

The key detail is that redactions are flattened into the pixels, unlike the removable overlays some tools produce, so account numbers and faces are genuinely gone from the exported file.

For redacting an existing PDF instead of a scan, use the Document Desk's Redact, and remove metadata from ordinary photos with Remove EXIF.

## How to

1. **Add a page.** Bring in a scanned or imported page.
2. **Black out.** Paint over account numbers, faces, or signatures.
3. **Strip metadata.** Remove EXIF/GPS so the file doesn't leak capture details.
4. **Export.** Save a clean, redacted image or PDF.

## FAQ

### Are the redactions permanent?

Yes. The black areas are burned into the image pixels, not drawn as a removable overlay, so the covered content can't be recovered from the exported file.

### What metadata gets removed?

Camera EXIF — including GPS coordinates, device model, and timestamps — is stripped, so a shared scan doesn't reveal where and when it was captured.

### Why not just draw a box in a PDF viewer?

Overlay boxes in many viewers can be moved or deleted to reveal what's underneath. Because this flattens the redaction into the image, there's nothing underneath to expose.

### Is my scan uploaded to redact it?

No. Redaction and metadata stripping happen in your browser, which is essential when the whole point is removing sensitive data before sharing.


## Related tools

- [Redact](https://www.safepaper.app/docs/redact)
- [EXIF scrub](https://www.safepaper.app/media/remove-exif)
- [Build PDF](https://www.safepaper.app/scan/to-pdf)
- [Compress scan](https://www.safepaper.app/scan/compress)

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Canonical HTML: https://www.safepaper.app/scan/scrub
Markdown: https://www.safepaper.app/scan/scrub.md

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