Common Redaction Issues & How to Fix Them
Quick solutions to the most common issues with exports, verification, and detection.
Last updated: Aug 11, 2026
Detection Issues
RedactProof has two detection engines. The Standard engine runs entirely in your browser, so nothing leaves your device. The Precision Engine (Pro only) sends extracted text to our servers for deeper analysis and returns more thorough results. AI detection of any kind requires a paid plan or the one-document trial; manual redaction is always available.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Nothing is detected | AI detection needs Core, Pro, or the one-document trial. If you have one of those, give the model a moment to load on first use and reload the page if it stalls. |
| Detection is slow or the page stalls | Close other tabs or split the document. Pro 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 | It retries automatically. Wait a moment and run detection again, or switch to the Standard engine to keep working. |
| Sensitive information was missed | Add it manually by selecting text or drawing a box. For scanned pages, see Images & scanned PDFs below. |
| Too many false positives | 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, Pro, Flex Packs, and the one-document trial.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Can't open an image (JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, HEIC, BMP) | Image and photo redaction is available on Core, Pro, Flex Packs, and the one-document trial. |
| AI finds nothing in a scanned PDF | The page is an image. OCR (Core, Pro, Flex Packs, and the one-document trial) 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 | OCR rebuilds a searchable text layer on export for Core, Pro, Flex Packs, and the one-document trial. |
Office Files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
RedactProof redacts PDFs and images, and deliberately does not convert Office files for you: redaction accuracy depends on exact text positioning, and a native export from the original application preserves it better than any conversion we could do. Your file is not uploaded when you drop it - nothing leaves your device.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| A Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file shows the "export to PDF first" notice | Export to PDF from the original application (File → Save As or Export → PDF), check you are happy with it, then drop that PDF here. |
| The application has no PDF export option | Print the document and choose "Save as PDF" as the printer - every current OS includes one. |
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 | Solution |
|---|---|
| A bulk batch is slow or the tab becomes unresponsive | 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 | 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 | Solution |
|---|---|
| Export fails or times out | Close other browser tabs, split the document, or use a more powerful device. |
| Export has a RedactProof attribution line | Core, Flex Pack, or trial export - the default on those plans. Pro includes no-attribution exports, which remove the line entirely. |
| Got a single PDF, no certificate bundle | Verification certificates and the ZIP bundle are a Pro feature, also included on the one-document trial. Core and Flex Pack exports do not include them. |
| Text not searchable after export | OCR restores a searchable text layer on Core, Pro, Flex Packs, and the one-document trial. See Images & scanned PDFs. |
Verification Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| "Signature invalid" error | Request the original, unmodified verify.json from the sender. |
| "Document hash mismatch" | The PDF has been altered after export. Request the original redacted PDF. |
| "Certificate not found" | Double-check the certificate ID. It should start with "rp_". |
| QR code won't scan | Use the verify.json file instead, or visit redactproof.com/verify manually. |
Diagnostic Panel
For technical troubleshooting the app has a built-in diagnostic panel. Turn it on in
Settings → Diagnostic panel (or by adding ?debug=1 to the app URL).
While it is enabled, a floating bug counter sits in the corner of every page - that badge is your
visible signal that diagnostic logging is on. Tap it to open a live overlay of recent app activity:
scan progress, timings, errors, and detection traces.
- Everything stays on your device. While the panel is enabled, detection diagnostics include the detected text itself, logged locally. Turning the panel off stops that logging and removes the badge.
- Detected text is masked by default in the panel, in Copy, and in anything you attach to a report - "John Smith" leaves as "xxxx xxxxx".
- Raw values is a switch inside the overlay that reveals the unmasked text. It is off on every load and we never ask you to turn it on; if you choose to include raw values in a report so support can analyse them, that is entirely your decision. What is saved to disk stays masked either way.
- Report issue opens the standard report form, and Clear empties the log.
Support may ask you to enable the panel, run a scan, and read back specific lines - that is the fastest way to diagnose a detection mystery without your document going anywhere.
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.
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.