How to redact a payslip
A payslip proves you're employed and what you earn, but it also carries your tax ID, provident fund numbers and bank account. Here's how to hide those and keep what the reader actually needs.
Open the redaction tool Free, no account. The file stays on your device.Quick steps
- Open maskyourdocs and choose the payslip PDF or photo.
- Type each ID you want hidden (PAN, UAN, employee code) into Find text and press Mask all.
- Use Draw box for anything else, such as your bank account or an amount.
- Press Export, then Generate, then Download.
Decide what the reader needs
- Landlord or letting agent: that you're employed and what you take home. Keep your name, employer, month and net pay.
- Lender or credit card company: usually the full payslip. Ask before you redact.
- New employer: often proof of your current salary. Ask whether they need the full slip.
- AI tool or tax helper: the amounts and deductions, without anything that identifies you.
What to hide and what to keep
Usually hide
- Employee ID or code
- PAN (India), National Insurance number (UK) or Social Security number (US)
- UAN and PF account number
- ESI number
- Bank account number
- Home address and date of birth
- Deductions you'd rather not disclose, such as a loan recovery
Usually keep
- Your name
- Employer name
- Pay period
- Gross and net pay
Your UAN gives access to your provident fund account, so there's rarely a reason to share it.
Step by step
Step 1: Open the payslip
Go to maskyourdocs, press Choose a file and pick the PDF, or a photo or screenshot of it. HR portals often protect payslips with a password; the email it came with usually says what it is. If the PDF asks for a password, enter it. The redacted copy you download has no password.
Step 2: Hide your IDs
Type your PAN into Find text and press Mask all. Do the same for your UAN, PF number and employee code. Find text searches every page and covers each copy, which matters when an ID appears in both the header and the deductions table.
Step 3: Hide amounts or a section
To hide a figure, or the whole deductions table, choose Draw box and drag over it. On a phone or tablet, rest a finger on the spot until a ring appears, then drag. A quick swipe still scrolls, and two fingers pinch to zoom.
Step 4: Check your marks
Tap or hover over a black bar to see what's under it. Remove it if it's wrong, or press Undo.
Step 5: Export and download
Press Export, then Generate. The tool reopens the new PDF and checks that every value you marked is gone. If it says Still readable elsewhere, a value you marked also appears on a page you didn't mark: close the result, use Find text for it, and export again. Press Download. The copy's name starts with maskyourdocs.com-, so you can tell it from the original.
Redacting several months
The tool opens one file at a time, so redact each month's payslip separately. Keep a short list of the IDs you searched for and run the same searches on each one. If your employer gives you one PDF with several months in it, a single Find text search covers all of them.
If something doesn't work
Find text finds nothing
The payslip may be a scan or photo, or a PDF whose text can't be read. The tool says so when it opens. Use Draw box instead.
Every page became an image
That's expected for a password-protected PDF: the whole document is flattened. The result is still correctly redacted.
Questions
Should I hide my salary on a payslip?
Only if the reader doesn't need it. A landlord usually wants to see your net pay; someone who only needs proof of employment doesn't.
Can I redact several payslips at once?
No, one file at a time. Run the same Find text searches on each one. If several months are in one PDF, one search covers them all.
Is it safe to share my UAN?
There's rarely a need to. Your UAN is used to sign in to your provident fund account, so hide it unless someone specifically asks for it.
Can I redact a photo of my payslip?
Yes. Open the photo and draw a box over each detail. A JPEG comes back as a JPEG; other image formats come back as PNG.