Sanitize PDF

Remove sensitive content from PDF files. Clean metadata, JavaScript, embedded files, and more.

Click to select PDF or drag and drop

Your files never leave your device.

What is PDF Sanitization?

PDF sanitization is the process of removing sensitive or unnecessary content from a PDF file to protect your privacy and reduce security risks. This includes hidden metadata, scripts, annotations, embedded files, and more.

Why sanitize your PDFs?

  • Privacy Protection: Remove hidden metadata like author name, creation date, and editing history
  • Security Enhancement: Eliminate JavaScript that could contain malicious code
  • File Size Reduction: Strip embedded fonts, files, and layers to reduce file size
  • Clean Sharing: Share documents without annotations, links, or form data
  • Compliance: Meet data protection regulations by removing personally identifiable information
  • Document Cleanup: Remove unnecessary content for a cleaner, more professional document

Security Features

  • ✓ 100% browser-based processing
  • ✓ No file uploads to servers
  • ✓ All content removed permanently
  • ✓ No watermarks or limitations
  • ✓ Free & secure forever

How to Sanitize a PDF

1

Upload Your PDF

Select your PDF file. All processing happens locally in your browser—your files never leave your device.

2

Choose Sanitization Options

Select which elements to remove: metadata, JavaScript, annotations, embedded files, links, layers, and more.

3

Download Clean PDF

Download your sanitized PDF with all selected content removed. Original structure and text remain intact.

Best Practices for PDF Sanitization

When to Sanitize

  • Before sharing legal or confidential documents
  • When submitting documents to public repositories
  • Preparing files for print or publication
  • Reducing file size by removing embedded content

Important Considerations

  • Some options may affect PDF functionality (e.g., removing forms or links)
  • Removing embedded fonts may change text appearance
  • Sanitization is permanent—keep a backup of your original file

Frequently Asked Questions

Our sanitization tool can remove multiple types of content:

  • Metadata: Author, creator, creation date, editing history
  • JavaScript: Any scripts embedded in the PDF
  • Annotations: Comments, highlights, stamps, and notes
  • Embedded Files: Attachments and embedded documents
  • Layers (OCG): Optional content groups
  • Links: Hyperlinks and document links
  • Structure Tree: Document accessibility information
  • MarkInfo: Marked content dictionaries
  • Embedded Fonts: Fonts embedded in the document

Most sanitization options won't affect visual appearance, but some might:

  • Safe to remove: Metadata, JavaScript, annotations, links
  • May affect appearance: Embedded fonts (if removed, PDF may use system fonts)
  • Will change functionality: Forms (flattening), links, JavaScript
  • No visual change: Structure tree, MarkInfo, embedded files

We recommend testing with a copy before processing important documents.

Yes, sanitization is permanent for the processed file. However:

  • The original file on your device remains unchanged
  • You can always re-process the original if needed
  • No changes are made to files on servers (we don't store them)
  • We recommend keeping backups of important documents

Since all processing happens in your browser, you maintain complete control over your files.

Yes, but you'll need to remove the password protection first:

For optimal security, we recommend sanitizing documents before adding password protection.

Sanitization and redaction serve different purposes:

  • Sanitization: Removes hidden content (metadata, scripts, annotations)
  • Redaction: Permanently removes visible text or images from pages
  • Use sanitization for: Privacy protection, security enhancement, file cleanup
  • Use redaction for: Removing sensitive visible information (names, addresses, etc.)

For redaction, try our PDF Editor tool which includes redaction features.

Related PDF Security Tools

Encrypt PDF

Add password protection

Decrypt PDF

Remove password protection

Remove Metadata

Strip hidden document data

Flatten PDF

Make forms non-editable