How to Delete Comments from PDF with/Without Adobe Acrobat

When collaborating on contracts, research papers, or client briefs, PDFs often accumulate dozens of sticky notes, highlights, stamps and drawing markups from reviewers. Sharing these unrevised files can accidentally expose internal feedback, reviewer names or sensitive discussion, creating professional embarrassment or data‑leak risks.

You may run into frustrating roadblocks: delete buttons are greyed‑out, comments reappear after saving, or flattened PDFs make annotations impossible to erase. You may also mistakenly flatten files, thinking they have fully removed comment layers.

This guide starts with a scenario‑matching table so you can quickly locate your exact situation and jump straight to the proper fix. We cover online utilities, desktop editors, and native system workarounds to help you clean PDF annotations reliably.

Among these tools, UPDF is a well‑rounded choice. It supports full comment management across Windows, Mac, iOS and Android under one local‑privacy‑focused license. Without subscription lock‑in, it handles single or batch comment removal. Step‑by‑step guidance appears in Part 2 for your reference.

Part 1. Match Your Scenario to the Right Solution

Locate your real‑world use case below, view the recommended approach and core reasoning, then navigate to the corresponding step‑by‑step section.

Next, let's look at the tools available to you and their respective pros and cons; choosing the right tool can make your workflow more efficient.

Part 2. How to Remove Comments from PDF with Adobe & Its Best Alternative

Desktop software is the most reliable way to remove comments from PDFs. All processing happens locally — no uploads, no privacy concerns.

Balancing features, usability and cost, UPDF stands out among desktop PDF software. It fully supports comment‑removal workflows alongside complete PDF editing, accurate OCR, and native AI functions. One license covers Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, with flexible one‑time‑purchase options. It avoids the high recurring subscription costs of legacy tools while maintaining solid performance for daily PDF tasks.

UPDF — The Best Cross‑Platform Value

UPDF offers a clean, modern interface with full comment management capabilities across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Except for removing comments from PDF, UPDF can also add and insert all kinds of annotations if you don't know how to annotate PDF.

How to delete comments in UPDF:

1. Open your PDF in UPDF
2. Click the Comment icon in the left toolbar
3. All comments are listed in the Comments pane
4. To delete a single comment: Click the comment, then click the trash icon
5. To delete all comments: There's no “Select All” option in the Comments, but you can use the shortcut key: "Long Press Ctrl+Mouse Left Click" for Windows users (Long Press Command+Mouse Left Click for Mac users) to select all comments to delete all in one PDF file

Not efficient enough? Too many steps? Batch Remove supports one-click removal for all text markups and signatures at the same time for hundreds of pages.

Critical distinction: “Hiding” comments is not the same as deleting them. In Adobe Acrobat, you can hide all comments with Shift + Ctrl + 8, but they're still in the file. Anyone who knows how can unhide them. If you need comments truly gone, you must delete or flatten them.

Here's how to use UPDF to flatten PDF pages. The flatten function makes annotations non-editable, but they do not disappear. You can use it when you need the comments to remain visible but uneditable (e.g., for compliance records or archiving).

Still want to know how to remove comments from a PDF in Adobe Acrobat? Here are the steps: You can right-click the comment to delete or use the comment bar on the right to check all comments and select to remove.

Part 3. How to Remove Comments from PDF Online Free

Online tools are the fastest way to remove comments from a PDF if you don't mind uploading your file (or if the tool processes locally in your browser).

Critical warning: Never upload confidential legal, financial or internal‑only business documents to online services. Data leakage risks exist with cloud‑processed files. Only use for non‑private materials.

Adobe Acrobat Online — Adobe's official online editor. Select Edit > Comment > Delete to remove individual annotations. Supports all major comment types. Best for users who trust Adobe quality and don't mind logging in.

Sejda — One of the most capable free online tools. Upload your PDF, select the annotations that you want to remove, select comments individually or use “Delete All,” then download. Free tier: 200 pages/50MB, 3 tasks per hour. You can't delete them one by one or select annotations to delete.

Smallpdf — Clean, modern interface with 20+ PDF tools. Comment deletion is straightforward. Free tier has usage limits.

AvePDF — Upload your PDF and use the comment removal tool. Recommended in multiple guides as a quick online option. The deletion method is the same as Sejda.

FixMyPDF — Upload your annotated PDF, click “Remove Annotations,” and download a clean version — identical to the original but with the annotation layer completely stripped.

Limitations shared by online tools: Cannot resolve flattened, burned‑in markups; file‑size and daily‑task usage limits apply to free tiers; cannot reliably handle password-protected PDFs.

Part 4. How to Remove Comments from PDF with Built-in Workaround

Unwanted PDF comments may leak review notes when sharing files. Learn practical built‑in workarounds like Mac Preview and Print options to erase these markups and deliver clean PDFs without additional tools.

Mac Preview Native Method

Core limitation reminder: Preview can only delete annotations created within Preview itself. Comments imported from other PDF editors cannot be removed inside Preview.

1. Open PDF with Mac Preview
2. Show markup toolbar and open annotation list
3. Select Preview‑generated comments and press Delete on the keyboard
4. Export as a new PDF file. If comments originate from Adobe or third‑party reviewers, Preview will not permit deletion — switch to a cross‑platform desktop editor instead.

Print‑to‑PDF Last‑Resort Workaround

Warning: This produces flattened output. All annotations visually disappear but are embedded in the page graphics; you cannot edit comments in the new PDF afterwards.

1. Open your PDF in any PDF reader or viewer; here we take UPDF as an example
2. Trigger the Print function
3. In print settings, turn off the “Print comments and markups” option
4. Select Save as PDF / Print‑to‑PDF virtual printer
5. Generate a new PDF file. Use only when you no longer need any editable‑annotation capability.

FAQs about Removing Comments from PDF

Conclusion

Throughout this article, we have discussed different online and offline methods to remove comments from PDF documents. All these methods will help you finalize the document after the reviewing process is over. Every PDF annotator discussed in this article is good enough to carry out this comment-removal task in an efficient manner.

However, if you want to use the best PDF comment remover, UPDF is the perfect option for your requirements. With its easy-to-use annotation features, UPDF has made the comment removal process easier than ever. So, without wasting any time, press the "Free Download" button to get your hands on this multi-featured PDF annotator.