Free generator, copy and paste
Redacted text generator blackout bars you can paste
Type a line and it comes back as solid black bars, like a declassified file. Pick full blackout, shaded, or every other word, then copy.
- redacted
- redacted, shaded
- every other word
- redacted, light
- typed X out
- starred out
- strikethrough
Updated · strikethroughtext.online
What the generator does
Every letter, number and punctuation mark becomes one block character, so each word keeps its length. Spaces stay open by default, which keeps the gaps between bars and makes it read as redacted words rather than one long slab. Tick Line through the spaces too if you want a solid bar across the whole line.
| Style | Character | Looks like | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redacted | █ U+2588 | ███ ███████ | The classic declassified look |
| Shaded | ▓ U+2593 | ▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ | Softer bars that still read as hidden |
| Every other word | █ on alternate words | The ███████ is ██ | Teasers, where half the sentence shows |
| Light | ░ U+2591 | ░░░ ░░░░░░░ | A “faded” or water-damaged look |
| X’d out | X | XXX XXXXXXX | Places that strip unusual characters |
| Starred out | * | *** ******* | Censoring a word, comment-section style |
The last row in the tool is ordinary strikethrough, for when you want the words visible but cancelled rather than hidden.
Redacted text and spoilers are different things
Discord, Reddit and Telegram have spoiler formatting that hides text behind a grey box until someone clicks it. The text is still there, and anyone can reveal it. Redacted text from this page has no hidden layer: the letters were replaced, so nobody can click through to the original. Use a spoiler when you want people to be able to read it on purpose. Use redaction when the joke is that they can’t.
Ideas that work
- The leaked memo. “Per the ██████ agreement, ███ will be ███████ on Friday.” Every other word mode does this in one step.
- Guess the word. Because word lengths survive, a redacted line becomes a small puzzle in a group chat.
- Classified bios. “Location: ████████. Occupation: ██████.” A short line reads better than a long one.
- Story teasers. Black out the twist in a caption and post the full version later.
Where it breaks
- Search and screen readers. Redacted text has no words left to find. A screen reader may read “full block” for every character or skip the line entirely. If the post needs to make sense to everyone, add a plain sentence too.
- Fonts that leave gaps. On some Android and older Windows fonts the blocks do not quite touch, so the bar looks striped. The shaded version hides this better.
- Character limits. Each letter becomes one block, so the length matches your original. Nothing extra is added, unlike strikethrough, which doubles the count.
Taking the bars off
There is nothing to take off. Unlike strikethrough or zalgo text, which keep the letters and add marks, redaction deletes the letters. If you need the original, keep a copy of it. For struck, slashed or glitched text, the remove formatting tool brings the plain words back.
Questions people ask
What is redacted text?
Text with the words covered by black bars, the way governments and courts release documents with names and details hidden. Online it’s a joke format: you show that something was said while pretending it’s classified.
Can someone undo the redaction and read my text?
Not from the output. The generator swaps every letter for a block character, so the original words are not hidden underneath, they’re gone. The only thing left is the length of each word, which can be a clue in a short sentence.
Is this safe for redacting a real document?
No. Use a proper redaction tool in your PDF or document editor for anything legal, medical or private, and check the result. This generator is for posts, memes and puzzles, where the black bars are the point.
Why does the redacted text look grey or broken in some apps?
The bars are the full block character U+2588. Most fonts draw it as a solid rectangle that joins its neighbours, but a few leave small gaps or draw it lighter. If the bars look patchy, try the shaded or X versions.
Does it work on Discord, Instagram and X?
Yes. Block characters are ordinary Unicode, so they paste into posts, bios, comments and chats. Discord also has its own spoiler tags (||text||) that hide text until someone clicks, which is a different effect.