---
title: Free PDF Security & Redaction Check – Is This PDF Safe to Send? | HelpRange
url: https://www.helprange.com/tools/pdf-security-check
---

Free tool

# Is this PDF safe to send?

Find what your PDF gives away before someone else does: fake redactions, hidden text, earlier versions, metadata, comments, attachments and scripts.

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

## How it works

### Choose your PDF

Up to 10 MB; the file is deleted within 30 minutes.

### Run the check

We look for fake redactions, hidden text, earlier versions, metadata, comments, form fields, attachments, scripts and links.

### Fix what it finds

Every finding links to the free tool that fixes it.
  ![PDF security check findings with a link to the fix for each one](/static/images/ui/tools/pdf-security-check.jpg)PDF security check findings with a link to the fix for each one

### Send documents without the hidden baggage

HelpRange shows readers your document in a secure viewer – with their e-mail watermarked, downloads blocked and every open logged – instead of a file that carries its metadata and history.

 [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)

Famous leaks came from PDFs that looked clean: court filings with copy-pasteable "redacted" names, reports whose metadata named the author, contracts with comments left in. Run this check before a document leaves your company.

## What leaks out of PDFs

The common leaks are boring: a black box drawn over text that is still in the file, an earlier version kept inside the PDF by an incremental save, the author’s name and company in the properties, a reviewer’s comment (“we can go lower on price”), or a white font used to hide a paragraph. None of them are visible on screen, and all of them can be read with free software.

Run the check before you send anything to the other side of a negotiation, a court, a regulator or the press.

## How to fix each finding

- **Text under black boxes, hidden text** – [redact](https://www.helprange.com/tools/redact-pdf) it properly.
- **Metadata, XMP, earlier versions, attachments, JavaScript** – [remove metadata](https://www.helprange.com/tools/remove-pdf-metadata) (the file is rewritten without its history).
- **Comments, form fields, launch or submit actions** – [flatten](https://www.helprange.com/tools/flatten-pdf) the PDF or delete the comments.
- **A HelpRange fingerprint** – the [leak tracer](https://www.helprange.com/tools/pdf-leak-tracer) tells you whose copy it is.

Then check again: a clean file shows no medium or high findings.

## Example: a “redacted” court filing

A filing has names covered with black rectangles drawn in a PDF editor. The check reports “Text under 2 black box(es) – the redaction is not real”: the names can still be copied out. Redact them properly with the free tool, run the check again, and only send the version that comes back without that finding.

FAQ

## Is this PDF safe to send? – questions

What is a fake redaction?

A black rectangle drawn over text. The text is still in the file – anyone can copy it out. This check finds text under black boxes.

What are earlier versions?

Many editors save changes by appending to the file. The earlier content stays inside and can sometimes be restored.

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”.

What should I do with the findings?

Each finding has a “Fix it” link to the free tool that removes it: redaction for hidden text, metadata removal for properties, history and attachments, flattening for comments and form fields.

 Related free tools

 [Verify a PDF signature](https://www.helprange.com/tools/verify-pdf-signature)[Check an Office file before sending](https://www.helprange.com/tools/check-office-before-sending)[Redact a PDF – permanently](https://www.helprange.com/tools/redact-pdf)[See and remove hidden PDF metadata](https://www.helprange.com/tools/remove-pdf-metadata)

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