How to remove all comments and notes from a pdf
- Step 1Capture the feedback first — Read and action every comment in your PDF viewer before you start. Removal is irreversible on the output file — once the
/Annotsarray is gone, the reviewer's notes are gone with it. Keep your annotated original as a separate file. - Step 2Open the annotation remover — Go to the PDF Annotation Remover. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.
- Step 3Drop the commented PDF in — Drag the reviewed file onto the dropzone. The tool accepts a single PDF and starts processing the moment the file is added — there is no separate options step to configure.
- Step 4Let it run automatically — The tool walks every page, deletes the
/Annotsarray, and clears any interactive form fields, then re-saves the document. This is instant for most files; large or many-page PDFs take a moment. - Step 5Verify the clean output — The result panel shows input pages, input size, and output size, with
Processing: Browser. Open the downloaded PDF and confirm no comment icons or pop-ups remain on any page. - Step 6Download and distribute — Save the file (named
yourdoc.annotation-remover.pdf) and send it on. If you also need to strip author/producer metadata, follow up with the PDF Metadata Scrubber.
What the comment remover touches — and what it leaves alone
The tool deletes the entire annotation layer per page. It does not filter by annotation subtype, so everything in the /Annots array is removed together.
| Document element | Stored as | Removed? |
|---|---|---|
| Sticky-note comments (the yellow icon) | Text annotation in /Annots | Yes — deleted with the whole array |
| Pop-up text behind a sticky note | Popup annotation in /Annots | Yes — the hover text goes too |
| Typed text-box callouts | FreeText annotation in /Annots | Yes |
| Highlights / underline / strikethrough | Highlight / Underline / StrikeOut in /Annots | Yes — even if you only wanted comments gone |
| Interactive form fields (text boxes, checkboxes) | AcroForm widgets (tied to annotations) | Yes — the tool clears all form fields as a side effect |
| The actual page text and images | Page content stream | No — never modified |
| Document metadata (author, producer, dates) | Info dictionary / XMP | No — use the Metadata Scrubber |
Free vs Pro limits for this tool
PDF-family limits enforced before processing. Both file size and page count are checked on the free tier; whichever you hit first blocks the run.
| Tier | Max file size | Max pages | Files per job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 2 MB | 50 pages | 1 |
| Pro | 50 MB | 500 pages | 5 |
| Pro + Media | 500 MB | 2,000 pages | 50 |
Cookbook
Concrete before/after scenarios for comment-heavy review PDFs and exactly what this single-pass tool does to each.
A contract draft with reviewer sticky notes
Legal returns a draft with a dozen Text sticky notes flagging clauses to revise. After you action them in the source document, the comment icons must not appear in the version you send the counterparty.
Before: contract-draft.pdf page 3: Text annotation "weaken this indemnity" page 5: Text + Popup "client will never agree to this" page 7: FreeText callout "check effective date" After drop (auto-run): /Annots deleted from every page → contract-draft.annotation-remover.pdf page text identical; 0 comment icons, 0 pop-ups
The hover pop-up that hides the real opinion
A sticky note shows a neutral icon on the page, but the pop-up behind it (only visible on hover) reads bluntly. Deleting just the icon is not enough — the Popup object carries the text. This tool removes both because they live in the same /Annots array.
Before: Text annotation → icon on page 2 Popup annotation → "this whole section is nonsense" After: both objects gone — no icon, no hover text nothing recoverable from the output file
Comments and highlights mixed on the same page
You only wanted the comments gone but the page also has highlights. There is no per-type selection, so a single pass clears both. If you wanted to keep highlights, that is not possible with this tool — keep the annotated original instead.
Before page 1: Highlight (3 spans) + Text comment + FreeText After page 1: empty /Annots → all three removed together No option exists to remove comments but keep highlights.
A commented form that also has fill-in fields
The PDF carries both reviewer comments and an interactive form (name, date boxes). Removing annotations also clears the AcroForm fields, because form widgets are annotations. If you need the filled-in values to survive, flatten first.
Before: comment + 4 form fields (filled) After annotation remover: comments gone AND form fields gone (values lost) Keep the values instead: 1. pdf-flatten → bakes field values into the page 2. then annotation remover → strips remaining comments
Confirming the file is truly clean
The result panel reports counts, not a per-annotation log. To verify, reopen the output in a viewer and check the comment panel is empty. The output filename always derives from your input.
Result panel: Input pages: 12 Input size: 1.4 MB Output size: 1.3 MB Processing: Browser Download → review-final.annotation-remover.pdf Open in Acrobat/Preview → Comments list is empty
Edge cases and what actually happens
A PDF with no annotations at all
By designPages without an /Annots entry are simply skipped — the tool checks for the array and moves on if it is absent. You get a re-saved, valid PDF that is functionally identical to the input. No error, nothing removed.
Interactive form fields are also cleared
ExpectedComment widgets and AcroForm fields share the same annotation machinery, so the tool removes all form fields along with the comments. If your document is a fillable form whose values you need to keep, run PDF Flatten first to bake the values into the page, then remove annotations.
You wanted to keep some comments
Not supportedThere is no checkbox, reviewer filter, or annotation-type selector — the tool deletes the entire /Annots array on every page. Selective removal (keep one reviewer, drop another) requires a full editor such as Adobe Acrobat. Keep your annotated original if you might need the notes back.
Free-tier file over 2 MB
BlockedFiles larger than 2 MB are rejected on the free tier before processing with a message naming the size and the limit. Comment-heavy scanned PDFs cross 2 MB easily. Upgrade to Pro (50 MB) or compress first with lossy compression.
Free-tier PDF over 50 pages
BlockedThe free tier also enforces a 50-page cap, checked after the file size. A long reviewed manuscript will hit this even under 2 MB. Pro raises the cap to 500 pages; Pro + Media to 2,000.
Password-protected PDF
Often worksThe tool loads documents with encryption ignored, so many protected files parse and process fine. If a strongly encrypted file fails to open, remove the password first with PDF Unlock or Remove Password, then strip the comments.
Comment text was also typed into the page itself
PreservedIf a reviewer retyped a note as real page text (not an annotation) — for example by editing the source — that text is part of the content stream, not the /Annots layer, so it survives. The tool only removes the annotation overlay; in-page text is never touched.
Redacting confidential content, not comments
Wrong toolRemoving a comment that mentions sensitive data does not remove that data if it also appears in the page body. To detect and black out emails, phone numbers, and SSNs in the page content, use the PDF PII Redactor.
Expecting a removed-count report
Not shownThe engine counts how many annotations it removed, but the UI does not surface that number — the result panel shows input pages, input size, output size, and Processing: Browser only. Verify by reopening the output and checking the comment panel is empty.
Corrupt or non-PDF file
ErrorA truncated or non-PDF file fails to load and the run errors out rather than producing a partial result. Repair the file first with PDF Repair, then re-run the comment removal.
Frequently asked questions
Does removing comments change the document's actual text?
No. Comments live in a separate annotation layer (/Annots) that sits on top of each page. The tool deletes that layer and re-saves the document; the page content stream — your text, images, and vector graphics — is never modified. What you see on the page after removal is exactly what was there before, minus the overlay.
Can I remove only one reviewer's comments and keep another's?
No. The tool deletes the entire /Annots array on every page in a single pass — there is no reviewer filter or annotation-type selector. Selective, per-author removal needs a full PDF editor such as Adobe Acrobat. If you might need a particular reviewer's notes later, keep the annotated original as a separate file before running this tool.
Will it remove the pop-up text behind a sticky note, or just the icon?
Both. A sticky note is stored as a Text annotation plus a linked Popup annotation that holds the hover text. Because they both sit in the same per-page /Annots array and the tool deletes the whole array, the icon and the pop-up text are removed together. There is nothing left in the output to recover the comment from.
Does it remove form fields too?
Yes. Interactive form fields are implemented as annotation widgets tied to the document's AcroForm, so the tool clears all form fields as part of removing annotations. If you have a fillable form whose entered values you need to keep, run PDF Flatten first — that bakes the values into the page as static content — and then remove the remaining comments.
Is there an undo, or a way to get the comments back?
Not from the output file — removal is permanent there. But the tool never alters your input file; it produces a new PDF. So your original commented document is untouched on your disk, and you can always go back to it, re-read the notes, and re-run the tool if needed.
Are my comments uploaded anywhere?
No. Processing runs entirely in your browser via pdf-lib. The reviewed document and every comment in it stay on your device — the result panel explicitly states Local browser processing · 0 bytes uploaded. Only an anonymous usage counter is recorded when you are signed in.
Will the cleaned PDF be smaller?
Usually slightly. Annotation objects and their appearance streams add bytes, so deleting them trims the file. Don't expect dramatic savings — the page content (the bulk of most PDFs) is unchanged. For real size reduction, follow up with lossy compression or lossless compression.
Do I configure anything before it runs?
No. This is a one-click tool with no options panel. The moment you drop a PDF onto the dropzone it processes automatically and shows you the result. There are no checkboxes for annotation types, no presets, and no preview-and-confirm step.
What's the largest file I can clean?
On the free tier, 2 MB and 50 pages — both limits are enforced and whichever you hit first blocks the run. Pro raises this to 50 MB and 500 pages; Pro + Media to 500 MB and 2,000 pages. Comment-heavy or scanned review PDFs cross the 2 MB free limit quickly, so compress first if you need to stay free.
Does it work on PDFs commented in Acrobat, Preview, or Edge?
Yes. All standard PDF viewers store comments as conformant annotation objects in the page /Annots array, regardless of which app created them. The tool removes the array wholesale, so the source of the comments doesn't matter — Acrobat, macOS Preview, Microsoft Edge, Foxit, and others are all handled the same way.
What's the difference between this and Flatten?
Flatten (PDF Flatten) bakes form fields and annotation appearances permanently into the page so they still show but can no longer be edited or read as separate objects. This tool deletes annotations entirely so nothing remains. Use Flatten when you want comments/fields to stay visible but locked; use this when you want them gone.
I removed a comment that mentioned a password — is the document now safe?
Only if the sensitive text existed only as a comment. If the same information also appears in the page body, removing the comment does nothing to it. To find and black out sensitive content in the actual page text, use the PDF PII Redactor, and scrub identifying metadata with the Metadata Scrubber.
Privacy first
All PDF processing runs locally in your browser using PDF-lib and pdf.js. No file is ever uploaded — only metadata counters are saved for signed-in dashboard stats.