How to compress your PDF on Mac
- 1
Open this page in Safari or Chrome on your Mac and add your PDF.
- 2
Choose a compression level or a target size.
- 3
Click Compress and download the smaller PDF.
Compress PDF on Mac: built-in options vs this tool
Preview has File → Export → Quartz Filter “Reduce File Size”, but it often over-compresses and leaves images badly blurred. Here you choose the level or a target size and see the result.
It works in Safari, Chrome and Firefox on any Mac with nothing to install, including Apple-silicon and older Intel Macs.
Private by design
Your file is processed by your own browser, in memory. It is never uploaded, stored or seen by anyone, and the page’s security policy blocks it from sending data to other servers.
Frequently asked questions
How to reduce PDF size preview 2019?
Add the PDF, choose a compression level (or a target size), then click Compress PDF. The result shows the before and after size.
Does it work on Mac?
It works in Safari, Chrome and Firefox on any Mac with nothing to install, including Apple-silicon and older Intel Macs.
Will compression make my PDF blurry?
Text and vector graphics are never touched, so they stay sharp. Only images are recompressed. Light keeps images close to the original; Strong is visibly softer on photos.
Why didn’t my PDF get much smaller?
PDFs made from text (exported from Word, for example) contain few images, so there is little to compress. Large savings come from scans and photos.
How small does a PDF need to be for email?
Gmail and Yahoo accept attachments up to 25 MB, Outlook.com up to 20 MB. Staying under 10 MB is safest because some company mail servers set lower limits.
Is it safe to use with confidential documents?
Yes. The file is opened by your own browser and processed in your device’s memory. It is never uploaded, so no server, including ours, ever receives a copy. That makes it suitable for contracts, IDs, medical or bank documents.
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