Delete pages from a PDF online, for free

Delete a page from a PDF, step by step

Deleting a page from a PDF takes a few seconds once you know which numbers to type. The tool works in any recent browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, with no software to install and no account to create. Here is the full process, from the document you received to a slimmer PDF ready to send.

1. Open your document in the free online PDF reader, by drag and drop or from your files. If it is password-protected, enter the password: it is checked on your device, and nothing is sent.
2. Scroll through the document and note the numbers of the pages to remove. The simplest approach is to keep an eye on the reader's page counter rather than the numbers printed at the bottom of the pages, which do not always match.
3. In the “Delete pages” tool, type the numbers and ranges, for example “2, 5-9”. The number of selected pages appears right away: that is your first check.
4. Confirm, then flip through the result. If a page you need has disappeared, the Undo button restores it as long as you have not saved.
5. Save or download the PDF. Give it a name different from the original if you want to keep the full version.

This number-based method is the fastest on a long document whose structure you know: an eighty-page report whose appendices must be removed is handled in one line. For a document you are seeing for the first time, the visual method described below is often safer.

How to specify the pages to remove from a PDF

The input field accepts a short syntax, the same in every Certyneo Reader tool that asks for page numbers. Once you have it down, it lets you delete several pages from a PDF, consecutive or not, in a single operation.

Commas and semicolons are accepted interchangeably, and duplicates are merged: “4, 3-5” simply removes pages 3, 4 and 5. The numbers designate the page's position in the file, starting at 1: if the document starts with an unnumbered cover, the page printed “1” is actually page 2 of the file. Always check the number of selected pages shown before you confirm.

Delete a blank page from a scanned PDF

The most frequent case is a double-sided scan: the scanner captures the back of every sheet, even when it is empty, and the PDF ends up riddled with blank pages. The process is simple, but calls for a bit of method.

• Go through the document page by page and note the numbers of the empty pages. Watch out for nearly blank pages: a back side may carry a signature, a stamp or a discreet handwritten note.
• If the blank pages regularly alternate with useful ones, they are often all even-numbered: note them one by one, as the syntax has no shortcut for “every other page”.
• Type the full list in one go, for example “2, 4, 6, 10, 14”, check the counter, then confirm.
• If the scan also has upside-down pages or black bands on the edges, take the opportunity to turn the pages the right way with the “Rotate pages” tool, then trim the black margins with the “Crop” tool, before saving just once.

A scan cleaned of its blank pages is nicer to read and quicker to print. If you then need to search the document's text, run it through text recognition (OCR): the reader will find the words it cannot see in a plain image.

Remove pages while seeing them: the thumbnail method

Typing numbers assumes you know where the pages to remove are. When you do not, for example with a file put together by someone else, a visual approach avoids mistakes.

The “Organise” tool, which shows every page as a thumbnail, lets you tick the pages to remove, move them by drag and drop and rotate them, all on the same screen. You immediately see what goes and what stays, which is invaluable on a mixed document: a contract, supporting documents and letters all jumbled together.

The two methods complement each other. Typing numbers is unbeatable for removing a large range at once, “30-” for example; thumbnails are better for spotting a duplicate or misplaced page in the middle of a batch. Nothing stops you from starting with one and finishing with the other, since the tools can be chained on the same document before saving.

Delete, extract, split or redact: what is the difference?

Removing pages is not always the most direct move. Depending on what you want to achieve, another tool does the job more simply, or more safely.

When you need to keep very few pages, it is simpler and less risky to copy the pages you need into a new PDF with the Extract tool than to list all the ones to delete. To turn a batch of documents scanned together into separate files, it is better to split the PDF into several files.

Finally, deleting a page is pointless if the information to remove is on a page you have to send: in that case, redact the sensitive passage to erase it permanently, rather than covering it with a black rectangle that would leave the text underneath.

What happens to the rest of the document

Deletion only affects the designated pages. The pages you keep are neither redrawn nor re-encoded: their text stays selectable and searchable, images keep their resolution, and the layout is identical down to the pixel. You therefore lose no quality by removing pages, even if you repeat the operation.

A few consequences should still be anticipated, because they follow from the very nature of deletion.

• Numbers printed on the pages are not recalculated: if you remove page 5 of a numbered document, the next page still reads 6. To get continuous numbering, add page numbers to the PDF once the sorting is done.
• A printed table of contents that refers to page numbers becomes wrong if pages have disappeared before the chapters it cites: proofread it or remove it.
• The file size may drop, especially if the removed pages contained photos or scans, but that is not guaranteed. If an email service or a form rejects the attachment, reduce the PDF's size after deleting.
• An electronically signed document must not be modified after signing: any change is detected by the software that verifies the signature. Remove pages before getting it signed, never after.

In practice, the safest order for preparing a document is therefore: assemble, sort, delete, and only then number, compress and get it signed.

Why delete PDF pages without uploading the file

Documents people remove pages from are rarely trivial: bank statements of which only part should be shared, contracts with confidential appendices, medical records, payslips. It is precisely because they contain sensitive information that they get trimmed before being sent.

With Certyneo Reader, everything is computed on your device: the file is never sent to a server, and Certyneo neither receives nor stores it. There is no account to create, no added watermark, no limit on the number of documents processed, and a file can be up to 150 MB. So you can delete pages from a confidential document without entrusting it to a third-party service.

The same reader is available as a free desktop app for Windows and Linux, with the same tools. It suits you if you handle PDFs often or prefer to work without a browser.

Chain page deletion with the other PDF tools

Deleting pages is often one step among others when preparing a file. Since the tools can be chained on the same document before saving, you can do everything in a single session.

• For a job application or an insurance claim, start by merging the PDFs of the different documents, then remove the unnecessary pages, then number the whole thing.
• If a page is missing, such as a photographed proof document or a blank page for notes, insert a page into the PDF at the right place rather than rebuilding the document.
• For a document to be distributed, add a watermark or a password once the content is final.
• For a contract, once the unnecessary appendices are removed, have the PDF signed online: the signed version will be the one you checked.

Save only at the end: as long as the file has not been saved, every step can still be undone.

More questions

Can I recover a deleted page after saving?

Not from the saved file, which no longer contains the page. So keep the original under another name until the slimmer document has been checked. If you overwrote the original, the only solution is to start again from an earlier copy, for example one attached to an email you sent or one in a backup.

How do I delete a page from a PDF on a phone?

The same way as on a computer: open the reader in the browser of your Android phone or iPhone, choose the file, type the numbers of the pages to remove and save. On a small screen, typing numbers is often more comfortable than handling thumbnails.

Why does the number I type not match the page I see printed?

Because the tool counts the pages of the file, from first to last, regardless of the printed numbers. A cover, a title page or a table of contents numbered in Roman numerals shifts the numbering. Go by the reader's page counter, and check the number of selected pages before confirming.

Is deleting pages enough to remove personal data?

Yes for the removed pages, which are no longer in the saved PDF. However, data present on a page you keep, such as a letterhead with an address, stays in the file: you then need to redact it page by page.