How to Turn Off Comments on Adobe PDF Files- Query Solved

  Mark Regan
Mark Regan
Published: April 24th, 2025 • 5 Min Read

If you are looking forward to turn off comments on Adobe PDF files, you must have some very good reasons for it. If you are sharing your PDF files that contain any official or confidential data where you just want to share with some of your colleagues or people but you don’t want them to add any comments on it, then you can easily turn off comments on Adobe PDF.

PDF files are very secure and safe, it allows you the feature of commenting on the documents, which is sometimes unwanted and can be misused. Especially if the PDF is an official or confidential document. Many users search for a way to disable comments on PDF files so that they can protect their data from being misused. In this article we will discuss everything briefly about how to turn off comments on a PDFs so that your document stays unedited and secure.

Why Disable Comments on PDF Files?

Before we jump into the methods to turn off comments on Adobe PDF, let us know the some reasons why you should turn off comments on a PDF:

  • Confidentiality: Avoid tampering or sensitive inputs by third parties you are sharing your document to.
  • Professional Presentation: Switching off the comments will maintain a clean, non-distracting layout.
  • Control: Turning off the comments on your documents prevents others from reviewing or suggesting edits.
  • Compliance: if your documents are related to legal or official documentation, it helps you to keep your documents unchanged.

How to Turn Off Comments on a PDF?

To disable comments on PDF there is no direct button or option, but there are workarounds in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and other PDF editing environments to do it. You just need to perform well to keep your document pristine and untouched by the annotations.

Method 1: Restrict Commenting using Password Protection in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Adobe Acrobat Pro allows you to set permissions and limit the commenting on the PDF documents as needed. Below are the steps to do it.

  1. Firstly, open your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. Go to the File, then Properties, and then click on the Security tab.
  3. Now, select Password Security as the security method.
  4. Now, check on the Restrict editing and printing of the document.
  5. Click on Changes Allowed
  6. Lastly, set a password and save your file.

Note: This method requires a paid version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, which is not accessible to all users. It can be very complicated to use, and passwords can be easily shared or cracked.

Method 2: Flatten the PDF to lock Comments

Flattening the PDF file will easily convert all the interactive elements, such as commenting, into a non-editable image format. Once you have flattened your PDF file in this way, your document will become un-editable.

  1. Firstly, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. Click on Print and then Select Adobe PDF printer.
  3. Now, choose your document to print with or without comments.
  4. Lastly, save your new flattened PDF file.

Note: it removes interactivity entirely that including hyperlinks or forms. You can also face the file size issue due to associated images, and also your comments remain visible, which can be inappropriate for your output data.

Method 3: Use Redaction to Remove Comments

Redaction tool is the software that helps you to permanently remove and obscure all the sensitive information that your document or PDF file holds. This method will help you remove all the sensitive and unwanted parts from your PDF files.

  1. Open your PDF in the Adobe Acrobat Pro application.
  2. Click on the Tools and then click on Redact.
  3. Highlight the comment areas manually and apply redactions.
  4. Lastly, save your PDF file in your storage.

Note: this process is very time consuming and may increase the risk of human error as it may miss the comments on multiple pages through the process.

Professional Method to Turn Off Comments on Adobe PDF

To disable comments on PDF, you can use BitRecover PDF Lock Tool. This is one of the best PDF protection software to even lock files in batch mode as per your needs. This tool is well designed to protect your PDF file and does not let anybody comment on your PDF document unnecessarily.