Cleaning PDFs
Got a PDF that needs cleaning? This strips out metadata, embedded scripts, tracking stuff, and other hidden content. Good for when you're sharing something publicly and don't want your name or company info attached, or when you need to check for malware, or just want to shrink the file size. Four different cleaning modes depending on what you need.
Everything happens in your browser. File never leaves your computer.
Upload
- Click upload or drag your PDF in.
- Works with PDFs up to 500MB.
- Shows you a preview of the first page so you know it's the right file.
Pick Cleaning Mode
- Four options:
- Standard Clean: Removes metadata, document properties, hidden stuff, scripts. Basic cleaning for sharing files.
- Security Scan: Checks for malware, viruses, sketchy scripts. Good for PDFs you downloaded from somewhere.
- Privacy Clean: Strips everything - author names, dates, what software made it, all of it. Use this before sharing externally.
- Optimization: Focuses on reducing file size. Removes duplicate stuff and compresses things.
- Each one tells you what it removes.
Start Cleaning
- Hit the start button.
- Progress bar shows it working.
- Usually takes a few seconds. Big files take longer.
- Everything happens in browser - nothing gets uploaded to a server.
Results
- Shows before and after file size.
- How much space got saved.
- Percentage reduction.
- List of what got removed.
Download
- Click download.
- File saves with "_CLEANED" in the name.
- Your content stays the same, just the hidden stuff is gone.
- Works in any PDF reader.
What Gets Removed:
- Metadata: Author, creation date, edit history, software used.
- Scripts: JavaScript and other code that could be risky.
- Hidden content: Invisible layers, deleted stuff that's still in the file.
- Tracking: External links, analytics code.
- Security threats: Malicious code if Security Scan finds any.
- Personal info: Everything that identifies who made it (Privacy Clean).
- Redundant data: Duplicate objects, unused stuff (Optimization).
When to Use This:
- Before sharing work documents externally.
- Legal files that need metadata stripped.
- Academic papers before submission.
- Downloaded PDFs that might have malware.
- Reducing file size for email.
- Removing your name from a resume or portfolio before sharing.
Other Stuff:
- In-browser processing: File never leaves your computer. No uploads to servers.
- Content preserved: Only removes hidden stuff. Your actual content stays exactly the same.
- Works everywhere: Cleaned PDFs open normally in any reader.
- No storage: Since it's all client-side, nothing gets saved anywhere.
- Fast: Most PDFs clean in seconds.
Upload, pick what kind of cleaning you need, download. Good for stripping metadata before sharing, checking for security issues, or just shrinking file size.