Definition

redact

WhatIs.com

To redact is to edit, or prepare for publishing. Frequently, a redacted document, such as a memo or e-mail message, has simply had personal (or possibly actionable) information deleted or blacked out; as a consequence, redacted is often used to describe documents from which sensitive information has been expunged.

The term is appearing more frequently in that usage because as technology has enabled information to be stored and shared more widely, legal, security, and privacy issues have arisen. As, increasingly, legislation (such as HIPAA , the Sarbanes-Oxley Act , and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ) is drafted to control the handling of personal information in public sources, it is likely that usage of the term redact will continue.

Learn more about compliance at SeachCompliance.com.

This was last updated in September 2005

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Have you needed to redact a sensitive email or message before?
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You should learn to use the English language. "Redact" is not a word.
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Redact is a word, but that's not the definition I would use. It's not simply "editing" or "preparing for publishing" but has to do with removing information from a document for security reasons. 
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Biblical scholars use the term "redactor" to signify the editor who put the final form of the Old Testament together.
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