PDF Squeeze

Shrink it, convert it, sign it, and ask it questions — right on your iPhone. Nothing uploaded, ever.

Getting help

Something not working, or a PDF that won't shrink the way you expect? Email me and include the iOS version and roughly what the file contains (scanned pages, photos, text) — that's usually enough to work out what happened.

Common questions

Do my files get uploaded anywhere?
No. Compressing, signing, reading and answering all run on your iPhone. The app has no servers and never transmits your documents or your questions. The only network request it can make is the optional model download described below. See the privacy policy.

Can I ask questions about a PDF?
Yes. Open a document and tap the sparkle icon. Answers come back with page citations you can tap to jump straight to the source, so you can check the wording yourself.

Can I convert a PDF to something else?
Yes — the Convert tab does four things, all on your iPhone. PDF to Text pulls the words out, reading scanned pages with text recognition. PDF to Images saves every page as a PNG, JPEG, HEIC or TIFF at the density you pick. Images to PDF lays photos out one per page, upright and fitted, and can drop the result straight into your library. Change Image Format converts between those four formats in any direction.

Does it need access to my photos?
No. Photos are picked through the standard iOS picker, which runs outside the app, so the app only ever receives the pictures you chose. iOS never asks you to grant photo-library access, because the app never needs it.

Why is it asking me to download a model?
iPhones with Apple Intelligence use the model already built into iOS, with nothing to download. Other iPhones need a language model to write answers, so you can optionally download one (about 1 GB). If you'd rather not, the feature still works — it finds and shows you the relevant passages instead of writing an answer. You can delete the model any time in Settings.

Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. If a page has no text layer, it's read on your device with Apple's text recognition. A scanned document takes longer to prepare the first time, then it's cached and reopening is instant.

Does it read languages other than English?
Yes, as of version 3.2. Scanned pages used to be read as English whatever was printed on them; now the language is detected for you, across the twenty-odd Apple's text recognition supports — including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Thai, Vietnamese, Turkish, and most of Western and Central Europe. Asking questions, full-text search and PDF to Text all improved with it.

What is the index cache in Settings?
When you ask a document questions, the app keeps the text it read so reopening that document is instant instead of re-reading every page. It lives only on your phone, is kept out of your iCloud backup, and holds the twenty most recent documents. Settings → Intelligence shows its size and clears it; anything you clear is rebuilt the next time you ask.

Can I sign a PDF?
Sign with your finger, or type your name and pick a handwriting style. Your signature is stored as strokes rather than a photo, so it stays sharp at any size. It's baked into the page itself, which means it survives compression and can't be dragged off in another app.

Why can't I search this PDF?
Some PDFs are page images with no text in them at all — scans, photo imports, and documents compressed with grayscale or a strong preset. There's nothing for search to find. Asking a question still works on those, because that reads the pages with text recognition.

Where did the Compress and Viewer tabs go?
In version 3.0 you open a document from your library and everything happens on that one screen — reading, searching, rearranging pages, signing, asking, and compressing. Compression is the first button in the toolbar, top right.

How much can it save?
It depends on what's inside. PDFs full of photos or scans often shrink dramatically. A PDF that's mostly text is already efficient, so there's less to reclaim — the app keeps text sharp rather than blurring it for a smaller number.

What does the Lifetime Unlock include?
Everything: unlimited compressions, target-size mode, before & after comparison, merging, signing and markup, and asking questions. It's a one-time purchase, not a subscription. The Convert tab isn't gated — it's free for everyone.

I paid before but the app is locked.
Tap Restore Purchases on the unlock screen while signed in to the same Apple Account you bought with. If it still doesn't unlock, email me.

Can I get a refund?
Purchases go through Apple, so refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. I can't process them myself.

Why is a compressed file sometimes bigger?
Some PDFs are already compressed as tightly as possible. When re-encoding wouldn't help, the app keeps the original rather than making it worse.

Privacy

PDF Squeeze collects no data at all — no analytics, no accounts, no tracking. Your documents and your questions never leave the phone. Full details in the privacy policy.