---
title: Free PDF Cleaner – Remove Comments, Hidden Layers, Attachments & JavaScript | HelpRange
url: https://www.helprange.com/tools/pdf-cleaner
---

Free tool

# PDF cleaner

Remove what a PDF carries besides its pages – comments, hidden layers, attached files and JavaScript – and see exactly what was taken out.

[Do this for your team](https://www.helprange.com/feature-secure-documents-sharing)

## How it works

### Drop the PDF

Cleaning starts by itself with the safe defaults.

### See what was removed

The result says what was taken out, e.g. "3 comments, 1 attachment, JavaScript".

### Download the clean PDF

The pages look the same; the hidden extras are gone.
  ![PDF cleaner: report of comments, an attachment and JavaScript removed from a PDF](/static/images/ui/tools/pdf-cleaner.jpg)PDF cleaner: report of comments, an attachment and JavaScript removed from a PDF

### Clean metadata is step one. Controlling who reads the file is step two.

HelpRange links verify the reader's e-mail, watermark every page and can be revoked – and show you who opened the document and which pages they read.

 [Try HelpRange free](https://www.helprange.com/?from=tool-cta#signUpSection) [Compare plans – from $39 per team](https://www.helprange.com/pricing?from=tool-cta) [See secure sharing](https://www.helprange.com/feature-secure-documents-sharing)

PDFs pick up baggage on the way: review comments with internal remarks, hidden layers from CAD or design tools, a spreadsheet attached to a report, scripts in a form. None of it is visible at first glance – and all of it travels with the file to the client, the court or the other side of a deal.

## What is removed – and what is not

- **Comments and markup**: sticky notes, highlights, strike-outs, drawings, stamps. Links stay clickable.
- **Hidden layers**: content on layers that are switched off (from CAD, InDesign, maps). Visible layers become ordinary page content.
- **Attachments**: files embedded in the PDF and paper-clip icons.
- **JavaScript and actions**: scripts that run when the file opens or a field changes, launch and submit actions.
- **Form fields** – only if you tick it; to keep the typed values, [flatten](https://www.helprange.com/tools/flatten-pdf) instead.

## Before you send a PDF outside

Run the [PDF security check](https://www.helprange.com/tools/pdf-security-check) to see everything a file reveals, clean it here, and remove the author and software with [Remove PDF metadata](https://www.helprange.com/tools/remove-pdf-metadata). Text that must not be read needs real [redaction](https://www.helprange.com/tools/redact-pdf), not just a clean file.

## Example: a contract after review

A contract went through two rounds of comments, and the final PDF still carries 14 comments and an attached spreadsheet with internal pricing. Drop it here: the result reports “14 comments, 1 attachment” and the clean file goes to the client without them.

FAQ

## PDF cleaner – questions

What does the cleaner remove?

Comments, highlights and other markup; content on hidden layers; embedded files and attachment icons; JavaScript and actions that run when the file opens. Form fields only if you tick it.

Does the visible content change?

No – the pages look the same. Only hidden layers that were switched off are removed; layers you could see become normal page content.

Do you keep my file?

Only for a short time: uploads are deleted right after processing, the result after 30 minutes – or at once with “Delete now”.

Is a cleaned PDF safe to open?

Removing JavaScript and actions takes away the usual ways a PDF runs code, but it is not a virus scan – open files from unknown senders with care.

 Related free tools

 [See and remove hidden PDF metadata](https://www.helprange.com/tools/remove-pdf-metadata)[Flatten a PDF](https://www.helprange.com/tools/flatten-pdf)[Is this PDF safe to send?](https://www.helprange.com/tools/pdf-security-check)[Redact a PDF – permanently](https://www.helprange.com/tools/redact-pdf)

[All free tools](https://www.helprange.com/tools)