Black out details on a bank statement before you send it
Landlords, lenders and visa applications often ask for bank statements as proof of income or address. They rarely need your full account number or every transaction, and you can hide what they don't need.
Share what's needed, hide the rest
A statement shows your account number and sort code, your balance, and where you spend money. For proof of address or of a salary going in, most of that isn't needed. Hiding it reduces the risk if the email or the recipient's system is ever compromised.
Check what the recipient requires first. Some lenders and visa applications need complete, unaltered statements and will reject redacted ones.
Key benefits
- Account numbers in one tapThe Account and card numbers button finds long numbers and sort codes on every page.
- Hide individual transactionsPlace a box over any line you'd rather not share.
- Properly removedHidden details are taken out of the file, not just covered.
- Stays on your deviceYour statement is never uploaded, which matters more for bank documents than almost anything else.
How to redact a bank statement
- Download the statement as a PDF from your bank and open it in Redact PDF.
- Tap Account and card numbers. Check each page and remove any box you don't want, such as one covering an amount the recipient needs to see.
- Add boxes over transactions or balances you want to keep private.
- Press Done and Export PDF. If you're sending several months, combine them into one file with Combine PDFs.
Tips
- Leave your name, address and the statement date visible: these are usually what the recipient is checking.
- Mention in your email that you've hidden account numbers for security, so it isn't a surprise.
- Add a password with Protect PDF and send the password separately.
Questions
Will a landlord or lender accept a redacted statement?
Many do for proof of address or income, but some require full statements. Ask first if the application is important.
Can the recipient uncover the hidden parts?
No. The hidden details are removed from the file, so there is nothing underneath the black boxes.
My statement is a photo or a scan. Does this still work?
Yes. Place boxes by hand, or let Think Pages read the scan with OCR so it can find the numbers for you.
Tools for this job
More guides
- Privacy and securityWhy use PDF tools that don't upload your filesMost online PDF tools upload your documents to their servers. Learn why browser-based PDF tools are safer for contracts, payslips, medical letters and ID, and how to check.
- Privacy and securityPassword-protect a PDF before you send itAdd a password to a PDF with AES-256 encryption before sending payslips, contracts or medical documents by email. Free, private and done in your browser.
- Privacy and securityRedact a PDF properly, so hidden text is really goneDrawing a black box over text often leaves the words underneath. Learn how to redact a PDF so names, numbers and addresses are removed for good. Free, private and done in your browser, with no upload.