How to Sanitize a PDF: Protecting Your Data with Confidence

Do you think that deleting or hiding text in a PDF means it's completely gone? If so, remember that even after you remove content, hidden data like metadata, comments, or document history still remain beneath the surface. This means that sensitive information such as personal details, contract terms, or internal notes could be recovered by someone with the right tools.

For this, sanitize PDF is the right technique, which means you're wiping out all hidden data to make sure nothing confidential remains accessible. To do so, there are different methods which will be discussed in the article as follows. In contrast, you can also download UPDF, a comprehensive PDF editor with a redaction feature to remove visible content.

Note: UPDF now doesn't support sanitizing PDFs for now, but this feature will be available in UPDF 2.0, launching soon.

Part 1. What Does It Mean to Sanitize a PDF?

As discussed above, sanitizing means thoroughly removing all hidden data and sensitive information from the document to prevent accidental exposure. This process guarantees that the PDF is completely clear of any background information while making it easier to share without the risk of leaking details. It's specifically vital when handling confidential or sensitive documents such as legal contracts or personal information.

Sanitize PDF is more complicated than simply removing information because it goes further by eliminating content that might not be visible at first glance. Proper sanitization helps comply with privacy regulations and data protection standards, assuring confidential information remains intact. Thus, a trustworthy tool is essential for complete data protection that gives you peace of mind when sharing or storing important documents.

Part 2. 3 Methods to Sanitize a PDF

Explore this section, packed with several methods that you can use to sanitize PDFs to prevent unintended information leaks:

1. Using Adobe Acrobat

This versatile tool provides a built-in sanitization feature that allows users to eliminate hidden data from a PDF. Using its redact and sanitize feature, you can modify the appearance of your reductions with different colors or text overlays. Once the information is redacted, it allows to sanitize PDF by selectively removing hidden information. Adhere to the guide and hide selected or entire content with Adobe Acrobat:

Step 1. Launch Adobe Acrobat on your device and access the "All Tools" > "Redact a PDF".

Step 2. With the Redact toolset open on the left pane, select "Sanitize document".

Step 3. A dialog box will appear. To proceed with removing all hidden information, select Remove all.  

Step 4. After the sanitization process is complete, save the document to retain the changes. It's advisable to save it as a new file to preserve the original document.​

2. Using Locklizard Writer

Another powerful tool to help users sanitize PDFs with encryption and DRM (Digital Right Management) feature is Locklizard Writer. It allows you to customize which hidden elements you would like to eliminate in its optimization settings. After removing, the sanitized PDF only displays page size, page rot, number of pages, and file size. Explore the tutorial below and eliminate information for security with a few steps:

Step 1. Download Locklizard Writer and right-click your desired PDF in the "File Explorer" of your device. Now, select the "Make Secure PDF" option from the revealing drop-down menu.

Step 2. In the appearing window, tick mark the "Optimize PDF" option and hit the cog icon beside it.

Step 3. From the given list of sanitization options, tick mark the ones you would like to apply. Lastly, press the "Publish" button to confirm the removals from the document.

3. Using PDFsam

PDFsam is an open-source platform that facilitates users with basic PDF editing and management features, including sanitization. Although it's not as advanced as many PDF editors, but delivers a sanitize PDF option through the "Secure" tab. With this platform, you can select the option to clean metadata and save a new sanitized version. Dive into the tutorial below and utilize this approach for basic sanitization needs:

Step 1. Commence PDFsam on the device and access the "Secure" tab from the toolbar at the top. Afterward, press the "Sanitize" button from the revealing options to "Secure." 

Step 2. Go through the list of information involved in sanitization and press the "OK" button to finalize the changes.

Conclusion

To protect your crucial information, it is important to sanitize PDFs because it guarantees that no hidden data remains accessible. However, people consider simply deleting or redacting content, which can still pose security risks if not properly removed.

Through sanitizing PDFs, you can prevent unauthorized access and comply with data protection standards. To take control over your document security, do wait for the new version of UPDF to launch with enhanced security functionalities.