Compress
Make a PDF smaller, and say so when it cannot. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens on this device.
About Compress
Compress makes PDFs smaller by shrinking the photos inside them, dropping objects nothing uses and packing what was stored loosely. Text and drawings are never touched. To a size aims for a limit such as 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB; if a file cannot get smaller, it says so instead of handing back a copy.
How to use it
- Add one or more PDFs, typing the password of any that are locked.
- Choose To a size for an upload limit, or Light, Balanced or Strong for a general squeeze.
- Pick 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB, or choose Other and type the size in KB.
- Press Compress it and read the result line, which gives the old and new size.
- Save the smaller file, or tap Share to send it on.
Good to know
Nearly all of a big PDF’s weight is usually its photos and scanned pages, so that is where Compress works. Typed text, lines and drawings are left exactly as they were and stay sharp at any zoom. A file that is mostly text is often small already, and the tool tells you so rather than give back a copy that is barely different.
To a size tries settings from gentle to strong and keeps the gentlest one that fits, so photos stay as sharp as the limit allows. Here 1 KB is 1,000 bytes, so a file made under 100 KB is also under it on a portal that counts 1,024. If photos alone cannot reach the size, tick Let pages become pictures and run it again: the pages look the same, but their words can no longer be selected.
Balanced suits most files. Light keeps photos print-sharp for a smaller saving; Strong is for email limits, with softer photos. Each attempt starts from your original, so nothing is squeezed twice, and very small pictures such as logos are left alone because they have little to give.
Questions people ask
How do I get a PDF under 100 KB?
Choose To a size, then 100 KB. See compress a PDF to 100 KB.
What does Let pages become pictures do?
When shrinking photos is not enough, each page is redrawn as one picture. It looks the same, but the words can no longer be selected.
Does a locked PDF stay locked?
Yes. A file that needed a password to open keeps the same password.
Why did my file hardly shrink?
It probably has few photos, or they are already well compressed. Try Strong, or To a size with Let pages become pictures if the words need not be selectable.
Is my file uploaded?
No. It is compressed in your browser, on your device.