Last updated: October 2026
How to remove annotations from a PDF
Short answer: drop your PDF above, check the annotation count, and click Remove annotations. The result table shows the before-and-after count for every page.
- Choose the PDF you want to clean — it stays in your browser and is never uploaded.
- Check the annotation count shown for the file.
- Click “Remove annotations”. Highlights, strikeouts, comments and sticky notes are deleted from every page.
- Download the clean PDF. If the file had no annotations, the tool tells you so instead of failing.
Why remove annotations from a PDF?
Share a clean copy — review comments, highlights and sticky notes were meant for the drafting stage, not for the client. Protect private notes — annotations can contain reviewer names, internal remarks or deleted text that should never leave the office. Finalise a document — a clean file is the one you archive and send. For content that must disappear permanently from the page itself, use Redact PDF first — annotations sit on top of the page, redaction removes the underlying text.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The entire cleanup runs in your browser with JavaScript — your PDF never leaves your device, which makes this safe for sensitive documents.
What counts as an annotation?
Highlights, underlines, strikeouts, text comments, sticky notes, freehand drawings, stamps, links, and form-adjacent markup — anything stored in the page's annotation layer.
Does this remove the highlighted text too?
No. Annotations sit on top of the page: removing them deletes the highlight, comment or note, but the underlying page text and images stay exactly as they were.
What if my PDF has no annotations?
The tool tells you “No annotations found” and no download is needed — your file is already clean. Nothing fails and nothing is changed.
Does this remove form fields?
No. Interactive form fields are a separate structure from annotations and are left in place. Flattening a PDF bakes form values into the pages if you need that.
Can I remove annotations from only some pages?
This tool cleans all pages at once, which is the safe default — a single leftover comment can be the one that leaks. Split the PDF first if you need per-page control.
Can I undo the removal?
No — annotation removal is permanent. Keep your original annotated file and save the clean copy separately.
Is removing annotations the same as redacting?
No. Removing an annotation deletes the note layered on top of the page. Redacting permanently deletes the underlying text or image from the page itself.