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discreetpdf.com

Remove hidden data before you send a PDF

The author name, the edit history, a colleague’s comments, the values typed into a form: none of it shows on the page, all of it travels with the file. This clears the lot.

Every step runs by default. Untick any you want to skip.

  1. Step 1Sanitize PDF
  2. Step 2Flatten PDF
  3. Step 3Remove annotationsKeep clickable links
  4. Step 4PDF metadata

These steps are set for this job. You can change each one’s settings.

Customize in PDF Recipes

Your PDF never touches a server. There's nothing here to ration.

No daily caps. No spinner that turns into a paywall after the third file.

Private by architecture

Your PDF never leaves your device.

Unlimited use

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Works offline

A tool you've already loaded keeps working offline.

Doing the same few steps to a folder of PDFs? Run several tools in one pass

About this tool

Most of what leaks out of a PDF is not the part you were reading. A file that looks finished still tends to carry the name of whoever created it, the software and the machine it came from, the times it was edited, comments somebody left in a draft, form fields holding the values that were typed into them, and sometimes a whole second document attached inside the first. None of that is visible on the page. All of it travels when you attach the file to an email.

This runs the four passes that deal with it, in the order that works: strip embedded scripts and attachments, flatten form fields so their values become ordinary page content instead of editable data, remove comments and markup, then clear the metadata, including the custom fields and the internal identifier that would otherwise let a cleaned copy be matched back to the original. Each step has its own settings if you want them; the sequence is the part that has already been worked out.

One thing this is not, though: a redaction tool. Everything you can see on the page is still there afterwards, exactly as it was. That is deliberate: the visible page is meant to come through unchanged. If you need visible text or an image genuinely gone, that is a different job and a different tool, and it is worth doing deliberately rather than hoping a cleanup pass caught it. Everything here runs in your browser; the file is never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same as redacting a PDF?
No, and the difference matters. This removes data you cannot see: metadata, scripts, attachments, comments, form values. Redaction removes content you CAN see, and needs the page rebuilt so the text underneath is destroyed rather than covered. Use the Redact PDF tool for that; it is a deliberate, page-by-page job.
What exactly gets removed?
Embedded JavaScript, auto-run actions and file attachments; interactive form fields, whose typed values are baked into the page as plain content; comments, highlights and other markup; and the metadata: title, author, creator, producer, dates, any custom fields, plus the trailer identifier that could link a cleaned copy back to the original.
Why flatten the form fields instead of just clearing them?
Because the values usually need to stay visible: a completed form should still read as completed. Flattening draws each field exactly as it appeared and then removes the field itself, so what you see survives and the underlying data does not. A signature field is a caveat: flattening removes it, so a digital signature will no longer validate.
Will the document still look the same?
Yes. Nothing here re-renders the page or touches its text, images or layout. Filled form fields become ordinary page content that looks identical, and comments disappear because they were never part of the page to begin with.
Can I run it over a whole folder at once?
Yes, up to 100 files in one go, with each one processed on your own machine and handed back individually or as a single zip. Nothing is uploaded at any point.
Can I change the steps?
You can change each step’s settings here, and there is a link to open the whole thing in PDF Recipes if you want to add, remove or reorder steps and save your own version.

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