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Anonimatum

Comparison · PDF redaction

An alternative to Adobe Acrobat's Redact tool

Adobe Acrobat Pro includes a Redact tool that does its job well: you mark text or areas by hand, search for words or patterns such as phone numbers or email addresses with Find Text & Redact, apply, and the content is genuinely removed rather than covered. It can also remove hidden information and metadata. For redacting a few PDFs now and then, it is a solid choice.

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The difference shows when volume grows or the document is not a PDF. In Acrobat you locate each name or define each search yourself; a surname that appears once in paragraph twelve depends on your attention. Anonimatum starts from detection by its own AI, which proposes names, addresses, dates and identifiers, and you review before applying.

Anonimatum also handles Word, Excel and PowerPoint in their original formats, processes batches on the server, and can pseudonymize instead of redacting when the document must stay readable. It runs in the browser with nothing to install, and everything is processed on EU servers with its own models, without external large language model APIs.

Moving from Acrobat redaction to Anonimatum

  1. 1

    Turn your searches into patterns

    The expressions you use in Find Text & Redact become reusable patterns and word sets, alongside built-in ones such as email address and IBAN patterns.

  2. 2

    Let the AI propose the rest

    People's names, addresses or licence plates that follow no fixed format are found by the AI options, without writing a search for each one.

  3. 3

    Review as you would in Acrobat

    The preview shows each mark and you can remove or add before applying, including drawing zones over signatures or photos.

  4. 4

    Scale to batches when you need to

    The same configuration is saved and applied to a ZIP of documents on the server, instead of opening and redacting file by file.

Fictitious document

A typical case: what a search finds and what slips through

Fictitious written submission in an administrative case. A search for ID numbers and emails finds the identifiers; the child's name and an address with no fixed format need contextual detection.

Before · Written submission (fictitious document)

Mr Fernando Lago Ruiz, ID 12345678Z, email f.lago@mail-example.com, submits the following:

First. On the day in question he was collecting his son Hugo from San Gabriel school.

Second. Since 2019 he has lived in the blue house next to the Los Llanos chapel, as shown in the local register.

Third. Vehicle 0000 BBB has not belonged to him since its sale in 2024.

He requests that penalty proceedings no. 2026/0442 be closed.

After · Written submission (fictitious document)

(redacted), ID (redacted), email (redacted), submits the following:

First. On the day in question he was collecting his son (redacted) from (redacted) school.

Second. Since 2019 he has lived in (redacted), as shown in the local register.

Third. Vehicle (redacted) has not belonged to him since its sale in 2024.

He requests that penalty proceedings no. 2026/0442 be closed.

The case number and the substance of the submission are kept; the child's name, the school and the description of the home are the kind of data a pattern search does not find.

Where Anonimatum adds value over Acrobat

Contextual detection, not just searches

Acrobat finds what you ask it to look for. Anonimatum's AI proposes names, addresses and places even when they follow no format, and you decide in the preview.

Office without going through PDF

A .docx or .xlsx is anonymized and downloaded in the same format. In Acrobat, redaction is done on PDF.

Pseudonymize instead of redacting

When the recipient needs to read the document, Anonimatum replaces people with consistent names and a reversible map. Acrobat's Redact tool is not designed for that.

Templates for repetitive documents

«Contract with side signature stamps», «Invoice» or the «Justice» and «Healthcare» profiles bundle the settings for each document type for the whole team.

Adobe Acrobat (Redact) and Anonimatum compared

  • How data is located

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    Manual marking and Find Text & Redact by words, phrases or predefined patterns.
    Anonimatum
    Detection by its own AI plus patterns, word sets and whitelist, with review before applying.

  • Content truly removed

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    Yes: applied redactions remove the content; hidden information and metadata can also be removed.
    Anonimatum
    Yes: redacted text is not left under the box and metadata is removed.

  • Formats

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    PDF.
    Anonimatum
    Native and scanned PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument and ZIP.

  • Volume

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    Document by document, designed for desktop work.
    Anonimatum
    Server-side batches with one configuration and ZIP download; REST API.

  • Pseudonymization

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    Not what the tool is for.
    Anonimatum
    Consistent substitution with a reversible equivalence map and sector profiles.

  • Where processing happens

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    In the user's desktop application.
    Anonimatum
    On EU servers with its own models, without external large language model APIs.

  • Best fit

    Adobe Acrobat Pro · Redact
    A few occasional PDFs with data that is easy to search for.
    Anonimatum
    Recurring volume, Office documents, free text with many people, or a need to pseudonymize.

FAQ: an alternative to Acrobat redaction

Is redacting in Acrobat unsafe?

No, as long as you use the Redact tool and apply the redactions: the marked content is removed. The usual risk lies in covering text with a black rectangle or highlight instead of redacting, or in missing some mentions.

When is Acrobat enough?

If you redact a handful of PDFs a month, the data is easy to search for and you already have Acrobat Pro, you probably do not need another tool. Anonimatum makes sense when volume, Office formats or free text make manual searching fall short.

Can I keep using Acrobat for other things?

Of course. Anonimatum is not meant to replace a PDF editor; it focuses on anonymizing and pseudonymizing documents. You can keep editing, signing or commenting in Acrobat.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Anonimatum runs in the browser at app.anonimatum.com and can also be integrated into your own systems through its REST API.

How much does it cost?

Outside Spain, the individual Anonimatum Pro plan can be bought online for €19.90 per month or €199 per year, VAT included. In Spain, plans are quoted by our sales team.

Keep reading

Compare with your own documents

Bring a PDF you redacted in Acrobat and a Word file you could not redact, and we will show you the result in Anonimatum.

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