5 Essential Tips for Protecting Sensitive PDF Documents
From encryption to metadata removal, discover the best practices for keeping your confidential information safe.
PDF consists of more than just the text you see on the screen. It's a complex container that can hold metadata, edit history, and sensitive information hidden in plain sight. Here are five essential tips to ensure your shared documents don't leak secrets.
Advertisement
1Sanitize Metadata
Every PDF creation tool stamps the file with metadata: the author's name, creation date, and the software used. Sometimes it even includes the exact directory path on your computer. Before sharing a public document, use a metadata scrubber to remove these identifying details.
2Flatten Your Forms
Interactive forms are great for data entry, but risky for storage. If you save a filled-out form as-is, the data remains in editable fields. "Flattening" a PDF converts these interactive elements into static page content, ensuring the data can't be easily modified or accidentally changed later.
3Redact, Don't Hide
A common mistake is drawing a black box over sensitive text to "hide" it. This does not remove the text underneath; it just covers it up. Anyone can drag their cursor over the black box, copy the text, and paste it elsewhere to read it. Always use true Redaction tools that physically remove the text characters from the file code.
4Password Protection (Encryption)
It seems obvious, but it's often skipped. Modern PDF encryption (AES-256) is incredibly strong. Adding a password is the only way to ensure that even if a file is intercepted, it remains unreadable.
5Use Client-Side Tools
As discussed in our other articles, using tools that process data on your device (like Andromeda PDF) removes the risk of middle-man interception entirely. If the file never travels across the internet, it can't be intercepted in transit.