The short version
Expense Rescue is a browser-based redaction tool. You open your PDF on your own computer, mark which transaction to keep, and download a clean proof of payment. No file is uploaded to our servers, no account is required, and the exported PDF is rebuilt as an image so the covered information is actually gone.
How the document is read
When you drop in a PDF, the browser uses Mozilla's PDF.js to read the file the same way a web page renders a PDF inside the browser. PDF.js turns each page into a canvas and exposes the underlying text, fonts, and positions that the PDF contains. We use that information to identify transaction lines, headers, dates, and account numbers without sending the document anywhere.
Most PDF statements are not just images. They contain text content plus instructions on where to place it and how to format it. That is why the tool can read the amount and merchant name directly, and why a simple black rectangle drawn over the text is not enough to protect it.
Why the output is an image, not just a covered PDF
Many PDF editors and annotation apps let you draw a black box over a line. The problem is that the original text is still underneath. It can be selected, copied, extracted by a script, or read by screen readers. The box is just a visual layer sitting on top of the data.
Expense Rescue works differently. We render the final document to a new canvas, then build a PDF from that image. The visible text remains visible, but the redacted text is replaced by black or blurred pixels during the render. Because the final file is an image of the page, there is no hidden text layer left to recover. The original data is gone.
This is the same principle as printing a statement, redacting it with a marker, and scanning it back in — except you get a clean digital file without printing or paper.
Privacy by design: nothing leaves your browser
- No upload. The PDF is loaded directly into the browser tab. It is never sent to Expense Rescue or any cloud service.
- No account. You do not sign in, so we do not know who used the tool or when.
- No server-side processing. The redaction logic, PDF parsing, and export are all executed in JavaScript on your device.
- No storage. The file and its contents are discarded as soon as you close or refresh the page.
- No analytics on the file. We do not inspect the content, size, or metadata of your statement.
What the tool can and cannot read
The tool works best on electronically generated PDF statements from a bank or card issuer. These files contain text and layout data, so the tool can locate lines, amounts, and dates accurately.
It does not use optical character recognition on scanned documents. If your statement is a flat image, the tool may not be able to find or select individual lines. In that case you can still use the manual redaction mode to draw boxes over the areas you want to cover.
How the redaction decisions are made
When you click a transaction line, the tool keeps that whole row visible and marks every other text line on the page for redaction. It also detects common personal identifiers — such as long digit runs, account numbers, address blocks, and balances — so those are covered regardless of which line you selected. The default keep list preserves the bank name, statement period, cardholder name, and the last four digits of the card so the reviewer can confirm the statement belongs to you.
You can override these defaults. If your employer asks for more detail, you can keep additional lines. If you need to cover something the automatic rules missed, you can draw a manual redaction box. Manual marks always win over automatic rules.
Why this matters for your expense report
Your employer only needs to see three things: the merchant, the date, and the amount. A raw statement also contains your full account number, your address, your balances, and every other purchase you made that month. Sharing all of that creates a privacy risk and usually violates the spirit of your company's expense policy. A properly redacted proof of payment keeps only what the approver needs and removes the rest at the data level.
Try it on the sample statement
If you want to see how the tool behaves without using your own document, try the fictional sample statement on the homepage. It uses the same local redaction engine and exports a flattened PDF, so you can inspect the result before trusting the tool with a real statement.
Expense Rescue is an independent tool. We do not store your documents, run server-side AI on your files, or have access to the statements you redact.