Compress a PDF without uploading it
Shrinking a PDF usually means sending it to someone else's computer. PataPage does it in your browser instead. Your file is read on your device, made smaller there and saved back, so it never touches a server. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit.
How to reduce PDF size for email
Drop your PDF and choose a preset. Recommended is the one to try first. It finds the pictures inside your document and saves them at a smaller size and a lower, but still good, quality. Text and vector graphics are left alone, so words stay sharp and selectable. Strong goes further and is a good choice when the file is still too big for an email limit.
Maximum is the last resort. It turns every page into a picture, which can shrink even stubborn files a lot. The trade-off is that you can no longer select or search the text, so use it only when size matters more than anything else.
Why some PDFs get smaller than others
Most of a PDF's weight comes from images. A scanned document or a slide deck full of photos can shrink dramatically. A document that is mostly text is already small, so there is little to save. If your file is already well compressed, PataPage tells you so and gives you back the original rather than a bigger file.
The result shows the size before and after, so you can see exactly what you gained.
Good to know
Compression is not reversible, because some image detail is discarded to save space. Keep your original as well. Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first. If your document is too large because it is made of many scans, you can also split it into parts with Split PDF, or protect the final version with a password using Protect PDF.