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How to Delete Text from PDF in 3 Practical Ways

  • By Charlotte
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  • Updated on November 28, 2025
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Introduction:
PDFs are intact and stable, and these two features contribute to why we save the draft as PDF. However, we sometimes need to revise or amend the PDF content. Finding the original Word document and converting it into PDF is too bothersome. Is it possible to directly remove text from a PDF? If so, how? Fortunately for you, we have some applicable best PDF editors to make things easy. In this post, we guides you through the several top ways to delete text from a PDF on various devices. 
summary

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF

Unlike Microsoft Office formats, PDF (Portable Document Format) is not actually editable by default. In other words, if you need to modify or edit text in a PDF, you will fall flat in the end. So, is it possible to delete the text we don’t want anymore? In this case, a dedicated PDF editor turn out to be helpful. Probably you’ve never heard of this Windows-based software before, but now you do.

SwifDoo PDF is a feature-rich PDF text editor that can add, find, and replace text in a PDF. Users can change the font, color, and size at the same time. Provided below is how to take advantage of it to work for you.

  • 1) Delete Text from a PDF by the Edit Feature

Rapid development has been made in the PDF software industry. Now you can remove text and keep the original formatting in your PDF in a few clicks. Follow the guide. 

Step 1: Open a PDF document that you wish to get rid of undesired contentin with SwifDoo PDF;

Step 2: Navigate to the toolbar and choose Edit, then click Edit All to enter editing mode. 

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF 1

Step 3: Select the text you don’t want, press Backspace or Delete on your keyboard, or right-click on the text to choose Delete;

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF 2

Step 4: If needed, further edit the content using other tools, and then save the changes.

  • 2) Delete Text from a PDF by Erasing

SwifDoo PDF offers the option to erase the PDF text. It's not the Eraser annotation tool but a PDF editing option. A PDF eraser can remove text when it's used to white out text in a PDF. So you won’t worry about information leaks. Let’s take a look at how to remove text from a PDF. 

Step 1: Still, open a PDF in SwifDoo PDF and go to the Edit tab on the toolbar;

Step 2: Choose the White-out eraser tool in the PDF applicationin and select the white color; 

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF 3

Step 3: Then draw over the text you need to delete from the PDF using your cursor; 

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF 4

Step 4: The underneath text is covered up and deleted, and then save the edited file. 

Please bear in mind that this is an irretrievable action. Once you apply a PDF eraser, the content vanishes entirely and cannot be recovered. Think twice before it all.

This above two options don't apply to scanned PDFs. Things get trickier when your PDF is a scanned copy or image-only PDF. We have published the tutorial to edit and remove text from a scanned PDF.

  • 3) Delete text in a PDF Document by converting PDF to Word

The other conventional method is to convert PDF into an editable Word document. This approach may not be the most straightforward one though. Still, it offers an opportunity to delete text from a PDF based on images using OCR settings.

Step 1: Download SwifDoo PDF from the official website or Microsoft AppSource;

Step 2: Launch the program, open your PDF and click Convert > PDF to Word;

Step 3: Add your PDF file to the converter window, click Settings to check if the OCR option is enabled. 

How to Delete Text from a PDF with SwifDoo PDF 5

Step 4: Click Start to output this PDF into an editable Word document.

Step 5: Open the converted Word doc, remove the unwanted text and export the file as a PDF.                                                                       

As we said earlier, this solution can erase unnecessary content from PDFs. I guess you don’t want to go to the trouble. For this reason, the first method is strongly suggested. If needed, you can use the tools under the "Edit" menu to add new text to the PDF and do many more. 

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How to Delete Text in a PDF with PDF Expert

When it comes to how to delete text from a PDF on Mac, Preview may escape your lips. The truth is, Mac users cannot deal with the existing PDF text in Preview as it's only a PDF viewer. Therefore, how do you do? PDF Expert comes into play. PDF Expert is a comprehensive PDF text editor on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. With the ability to edit, view, annotate, and sign PDFs, this product is the top 1 paid app in the Mac App Store. It also allows Mac users to change, add, and redact text in a PDF

Let’s dive into how to delete text on a PDF using PDF Expert.  

Step 1: Download PDF Expert from the App Store;

Step 2: Open a PDF document in the app, select Edit in the top menu, and choose Text ribbon;

How to Remove Text from a PDF with PDF Expert

Step 3: Select the unwanted text and press Backspace on the keyboard to delete the PDF text.

Though easy to use, PDF Expert is not a free app. When the free trial expires, you still need to pay. The good news is that we have many online tools to recommend.

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How to Remove Text from a PDF with Online Free Tools

Suppose you ever wonder how to delete text from a PDF with no download and registration process required. In that case, this section is of huge help as we will discuss online PDF text remover to help.

AvePDF

If you need to remove text from a PDF online for free without login , you’re here at the right place. AvePDF is a free web-based application you cannot miss. It can delete the entire and partial PDF text. Check out how it works:

Step 1: Open the official website and go to Edit > Remove Text;

How to remove unwanted text from a PDF online

Step 2: Upload a PDF file from a local folder, Google Drive, Dropbox, or hyperlink;

Step 3: Choose a delete mode (full or targeted), and select the text you want to remove. When ready, hit the Download button.

The process of removing text requires no complicated operation, and it is a FREE online tool. Therefore, we’d like to give AvePDF a thumbs up. On top of being a PDF text editor, AvePDF is a versatile PDF tool that integrates the ability to do PDF conversion

Sejda

Another online free PDF editor to delete text from a PDF is Sejda. This online solution also has no sign-up requirment. It's good for a clean and intuitive interface. It has a lot of useful PDF manipulation tools. You can add form fields, images, and annotations. You can downloaded edited files without a watermark.

Glance at how to delete text in a PDF file online for free. 

Step 1: Open the online Sejda PDF editor, and upload the PDF you want to delete text from. 

Step 2: Click the Text button in the toolbar to make the text editable. 

Step 3: Hover over your cursor over the text line, click into the text box and select the text. 

Step 4: Press the Delete key to delete the selection. 

How to Remove Text from a PDF with Online Free Sejda

Why Cannot I Edit and Delete Text from a PDF?

Before it all, we must be clear about the nature and primary goal of creating a PDF document: for easier sharing and maintained formatting. That is to say, a professional PDF editor is needed if one wants to make any changes to the PDF text.

PDF protection: When users cannot delete unwanted text from a PDF, they must confirm whether a permission password secures this PDF. If that's the case, use an PDF app to remove the password from the PDF and delete the permissions, for instance, SwifDoo PDF.

Image PDF: Otherwise, check if this PDF is a scanned PDF document created by scanned software or not. If yes, try an OCR engine to recognize the document and edit the scanned document.

Final Thoughts

We hope you know how to delete text from your document with desktop and online programs from the detailed description. If you need an all-in-one PDF software, SwifDoo PDF might be worth a try. If you don’t need to edit PDFs regularly, online services can solve your need.

FAQs

  • Q: How do I remove background text in a PDF?
    The background text is often embeded into the background and not easy to edit. Try choosing "Edit" > "Edit All" to remove it first. If not working, choose the "White-out" tool to white out the text to make it invisible. 
  • Q: How to remove text from a PDF online for free with iLovePDF?
    iLovePDF added a new feature for changing existing text in a PDF. However, you must purchase it to access the text deleting or editing tool. This feature is not free. 
  • Q: How to delete text in a PDF in mobile?
    Using online tools like Sejda, you can delete text from a PDF on any device, including mobile and computers. Click the "Text" tool once you've uploaded a PDF, and the text becomes editable. 
  • Q: How to remove text from a PDF without Adobe?
    SwifDoo PDF lets you remove, erase, or permanently redact PDF text without Adobe Acrobat. Open your PDF, click "Edit" to enable the editing mode, use "Edit All", "White-out", or other tools to delete the specific words. Or, choose "Redaction" in the "Protect" drop-down bar to permanently remove the content. 

Charlotte has been in the software industry for 8+ years. She works for AWZWARE now as a passionate writer. She is good at providing simple guides to use various video, office and entertainment software. Charlotte also recommends many other useful tools to make your work and life easier. A food lover too.

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