How this compressor works
FileKivo draws each page of your PDF as an image (using Mozilla's pdf.js), saves that image as a JPEG at the resolution you choose, and builds a new PDF from those pages with pdf-lib. Both libraries run inside your browser, so the document is never uploaded.
This approach works very well for scanned documents and phone photos saved as PDF, which are often 5–20 MB because the scanner saved them at a high resolution. Balanced mode (about 115 dpi) usually keeps printed text easy to read while cutting the size substantially.
Important trade-off
Because every page becomes a picture, text in the compressed copy can no longer be selected, searched or copied, and fillable form fields are flattened. For a PDF that was created digitally (an exported invoice or a Word document saved as PDF) the original may already be small, and the tool will tell you if the compressed copy would not be smaller. Always keep your original file.
Choosing a level
- Light (≈160 dpi) — sharpest; use for small print and documents a person must read closely.
- Balanced (≈115 dpi) — the default for most uploads.
- Strong (≈80 dpi) — smallest; check that fine print is still legible.
Common Australian limits
ImmiAccount visa attachments can be up to 5MB each, Medicare claim documents must be under 5MB, and a Centrelink upload must total under 10 MB. Details and sources are in our guides for ImmiAccount, Medicare and myGov/Centrelink. If one compressed file is still too big, split it into parts.
Questions
- Why is my text no longer selectable?
- Pages are converted to images to save space. Keep the original if you need searchable text.
- Why didn't my PDF get smaller?
- Digitally created PDFs with mostly text are already efficient. Image-based compression helps most with scans.
- Is the PDF uploaded?
- No. Everything happens in your browser.