Short answer
Scans are photos of pages — that is why they are huge. Use Max shrink or Target size below, then preview small print before downloading. For searchability afterward, run OCR. Everything stays on your device.
Stays on your device·No upload·No account·No watermark·Offline after install·How it worksMethodologyPrivacy
Compress scanned PDF without losing readability
Free · private · files stay on your device
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How it works
- 1
Drop the scanned PDF into the compressor below.
- 2
Try Target size if a portal states a KB/MB cap; otherwise start with Max shrink carefully.
- 3
Zoom the preview on stamps, dates, and ID digits — stop if they blur too much.
- 4
Download the result; run Make searchable if you still need Ctrl+F.
- 5
Optional: Remove metadata before sharing.
Who needs this
- Anyone with phone-scanned certificates or multi-page scans that fail uploads
- Email users whose scanned PDF is too large to attach
- Applicants balancing size limits against readable stamps
Files never leave your device
Compression runs locally. Files never leave your device. Preview before you upload the result to any portal.
Limits worth knowing
- Heavy compression blurs small print and stamps.
- OCR after compress if you need searchable text.
- Impossible targets stop at a readable floor instead of producing mush.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my scanned PDF so large?
High-resolution page images. Compression re-encodes those images at a lower DPI.Compress then OCR, or OCR then compress?
Either works; if text quality matters, OCR a clearer scan first, then compress carefully.Does this upload my scan?
No.
Written by Sumit · Last updated 23 Oct 2026