Sanitize PDF (Free, Private, No Upload)
Sanitizing PDFs removes hidden metadata, embedded files, scripts, and other potentially sensitive or malicious content before sharing documents publicly or with external parties. Security professionals cleaning documents before public release, compliance officers ensuring no hidden data leaks, legal teams sanitizing discovery documents, or anyone sharing sensitive files externally needs thorough PDF sanitization. This tool strips hidden content entirely within your browser: metadata revealing author names and editing history, embedded files that might contain viruses or confidential data, JavaScript that could execute malicious code, form fields with stored data, hidden layers, comments, and annotations. Unlike simple metadata removal, comprehensive sanitization ensures the PDF contains only visible content you intend to share, with no hidden surprises. Perfect for preparing documents for public FOIA requests, sharing contracts with third parties without revealing internal comments, cleaning PDFs before uploading to public websites, or ensuring downloaded PDFs from unknown sources contain no malicious scripts. The process creates clean, safe PDFs containing only the visible content while removing everything hidden that could compromise privacy, security, or confidentiality.
- Click Choose PDF and open your document.
- Review elements to be removed (metadata, scripts, etc.).
- Press Save PDF to download a clean copy.
Related tools: Remove Links, Remove PDF Attachments, Redact PDF
FAQ
What exactly does sanitization remove?
Sanitization strips document metadata (author, company, edit history), embedded files and attachments, JavaScript and interactive elements, form field data, hidden layers, annotations and comments, and bookmarks. Only visible page content remains in the cleaned PDF.
Why is sanitization important?
PDFs often contain hidden metadata revealing sensitive information: author names, company details, editing history, file paths, internal comments, or embedded confidential attachments. Sanitization prevents unintended information disclosure when sharing documents externally.
Will visible content be affected?
No, sanitization only removes hidden and embedded content. Visible text, images, and page layout remain completely unchanged. The document looks identical but contains only what you see, with no hidden data layers.
Is this different from redaction?
Yes, redaction removes visible content you select (like sensitive text or images), while sanitization removes hidden content you might not know exists (metadata, scripts, embedded files). Both are important for different security purposes.
Are files uploaded?
No, sanitization happens entirely in your browser. This is critical because you're often sanitizing documents specifically because they contain sensitive hidden data that shouldn't be transmitted to external servers before cleaning.