Common Redaction Issues & How to Fix Them

Detection Issues

RedactProof has two detection engines. The Standard engine runs entirely in your browser, so nothing leaves your device. The Precision Engine (Pro and Team) sends extracted text to our servers for deeper analysis and returns more thorough results. AI detection of any kind requires a paid plan; manual redaction is always available.

Issue	Cause	Solution
Nothing is detected	Free tier, or the model hasn't finished loading	AI detection needs Core, Pro, or Team. On a paid plan, give the model a moment to load on first use and reload the page if it stalls.
Detection is slow or the page stalls	Large document on the Standard (in-browser) engine	Close other tabs or split the document. Pro and Team can switch to the Precision Engine, which runs server-side and is faster on big files. The optional desktop Accelerator also speeds up Standard scanning.
Precision Engine returns nothing or shows an error	Temporary network or server hiccup	It retries automatically. Wait a moment and run detection again, or switch to the Standard engine to keep working.
Sensitive information was missed	Unusual formatting, handwriting, or text inside an image	Add it manually by selecting text or drawing a box. For scanned pages, see Images & scanned PDFs below.
Too many false positives	The AI flags borderline cases to stay on the safe side	Dismiss anything you don't want with the x. Dismissing only affects the current document - it does not change future detections.

Images & Scanned PDFs

Scanned pages and photos are pictures, not text, so the AI needs OCR to read them first. OCR and image redaction are included on Core and above.

Issue	Cause	Solution
Can't open an image (JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, HEIC, BMP)	Image redaction is a paid feature	Image and photo redaction is available on Core, Pro, and Team.
AI finds nothing in a scanned PDF	The page is an image with no text layer	OCR (Core and above) reads the text so it can be detected and redacted. You can always add manual boxes regardless of tier.
Exported text isn't selectable or searchable	No OCR text layer was applied	OCR rebuilds a searchable text layer on export for Core and above.

Converting Office Files

RedactProof redacts PDFs and images. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files are converted to PDF first using the built-in converter (Core and above).

Issue	Cause	Solution
A Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file won't open	Office formats are converted before redaction	Convert it to PDF with the built-in converter (Core and above), then redact the PDF. Free tier can export to PDF from the original app first.
Conversion fails or the layout looks off	Complex or unusual formatting	Export to PDF from the original application (File → Save as PDF), then upload that PDF directly.

Bulk Mode

Bulk mode redacts several documents in one session. Each file is still processed on your device, so large batches are heavier than a single file.

Issue	Cause	Solution
A bulk batch is slow or the tab becomes unresponsive	Many or large files processed in-browser	Keep the tab open and in the foreground while it works, close other tabs, and split very large batches into smaller groups.
One file in the batch fails	A single document errored or timed out	The rest of the batch is unaffected. Retry that file on its own, or check it isn't corrupt or password-protected.

Export Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
Export fails or times out	Large document or slow device	Close other browser tabs, split the document, or use a more powerful device.
Export has a RedactProof footnote	Free tier export	Core, Pro, and Team export without the footnote.
Got a single PDF, no certificate bundle	Free tier export	Verification certificates are included on Core and above; paid exports come with the certificate bundle.
Text not searchable after export	OCR not applied	OCR restores a searchable text layer on Core and above. See Images & scanned PDFs.

Verification Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
"Signature invalid" error	verification.json was modified	Request the original, unmodified verification.json from the sender.
"Document hash mismatch"	PDF was modified after export	The PDF has been altered. Request the original redacted PDF.
"Certificate not found"	Invalid certificate ID	Double-check the certificate ID. It should start with "rp_".
QR code won't scan	Low resolution or damage	Use the verification.json file instead, or visit redactproof.com/verify manually.

Mobile & Browser

RedactProof works on phones and tablets as well as desktop. For best results, use a current version of:

Chrome (recommended) - version 90+
Firefox - version 90+
Safari - version 14+
Edge - version 90+

Note: Internet Explorer is not supported. Large documents are heavier on phones, so for big files a desktop is smoother. The desktop Accelerator requires a Chromium browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Arc) - it does not work in Safari.

Using the desktop Accelerator? Connection problems (SmartScreen warnings, Safari, "Not connected") have their own fixes in the Accelerator troubleshooting guide.

Still stuck?

Send us the details and we'll help you sort it - your browser and a screenshot make it quicker to reproduce.

or email support

Found a bug in the app? Use the Report Issue link in the app's header menu - we'll receive a copy of your error log that way, which helps us track it down faster.