Questions? We have answers.
What is Adobe Acrobat Reader?
Adobe Acrobat Reader the free software application for viewing, printing, signing, sharing and annotating PDFs. It can open and interact with all types of PDF content - including forms and multimedia. And now, it’s connected to
Adobe Document Cloud services, so you can work with PDFs on almost any device, from anywhere.
Is Acrobat's PDF reader free to use?
How do I download the free Acrobat Reader desktop and mobile apps?
You can easily download free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader app on multiple operating systems and devices:
- Desktop app: Visit the Acrobat Reader download page to get the Reader app for your desktop. Once there, you can select your language, operating system and connection speed.
- Mobile app: Visit the Google Play or the Apple App Store to download our mobile PDF reader app for free. You can also download the latest version of the mobile app for Windows Phone devices.
Do I need Acrobat Studio, Acrobat Pro or Acrobat Standard to use Acrobat Reader?
No. Acrobat Reader is a free, stand-alone PDF reader application that you can use to open, view, sign, print, annotate, search and share PDF files. Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard are paid products that are part of the same family. See the
Acrobat product comparison to explore the differences.
What are the differences between Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pro?
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free application for viewing, annotating, and printing PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat Pro is a paid subscription that includes all Acrobat Reader capabilities, plus advanced tools for PDF creation, editing, converting, and managing PDFs. Acrobat Pro also offers electronic and digital signatures, as well as advanced features such as redaction, file comparison, and OCR.
What are the system requirements for installing Adobe Acrobat Reader on my desktop?
Adobe Acrobat Reader desktop software can be installed on both Windows and Mac operating systems and requires:
- a processor of 1.5GHz or faster
- 2GB of RAM
- available hard-disk space of around 1GB to 4.5GB.
Download Reader desktop software now or read the system requirements for more information.
Can I use Adobe Acrobat Reader offline?
Yes, it’s possible to use Adobe Acrobat Reader offline. Although the initial installation, launch and licensing checks require an internet connection, the application is available for use offline to open, view, print, and annotate PDFs.
What languages does Acrobat Reader work in?
Adobe Acrobat is available in over 25 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. See the
Acrobat system requirements page for more details.
Is Adobe Acrobat Reader available for mobile devices?
Just like Reader on the desktop, Acrobat Reader for mobile is free and continues to offer the industry’s most reliable mobile experience for viewing and interacting with PDFs. And now, with the addition of Adobe Document Cloud services, you can unlock premium features within the app to do more with PDFs when you purchase a subscription to Adobe Acrobat PDF Pack or Adobe Acrobat Export PDF as well as Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Visit the Google Play or the Apple App Store to get Android and iOS versions, respectively. You can also download the latest version of the mobile app for Windows Phone device.
What commenting tools are available in Acrobat Reader?
Acrobat Reader makes it easy to annotate and comment on PDF documents. With Reader on your desktop, you can:
- Annotate PDFs using sticky notes
- Type text directly onto the page
- Highlight, underline or use strikethrough tools
- Draw on the screen with the freehand drawing tool.
The same commenting tools are also available in Acrobat Reader for mobile.
Can I fill in, sign and save forms electronically with Acrobat Reader?
Yes. The Fill & Sign tool, powered by Adobe Acrobat Sign, automatically recognises whether your PDF has fillable form fields or not and offers an intuitive filling experience to complete the job quickly and easily.
With a fillable form, it’s easy to type your answers, sign your signature or select from drop-down lists, then save your completed document.
When working with simple PDFs that haven’t been optimised with form fields, you can click anywhere and type answers right onto the form - or you can accept suggestions from your personal autofill collection. When you’re done, you can save your changes and send the completed, signed form to others.
Can I collect signatures from others and manage signed documents in Acrobat Reader?
Yes. Acrobat Reader provides a limited number of signatures you can request using the Fill & Sign tool, without purchasing a subscription to Acrobat Pro, Adobe Acrobat PDF Pack or Adobe Acrobat Sign.
If you exceed the allowance of free signature transactions, you can subscribe to one of the various Document Cloud solutions to request even more signatures.
Existing customers of Acrobat Sign can use the Acrobat Sign mobile app to do the same on Android or iOS or Windows. You can also send files for signature using your web browser.
What is Protected Mode on Acrobat Reader?
Protected Mode is Adobe's primary defense-in-depth security strategy for mitigating and preventing security vulnerabilities. It protects you by limiting what malicious files can do and access. It runs silently in the background while protecting your hardware and data.
How secure is Adobe Acrobat Reader for handling sensitive documents?
Security settings and access privileges for a PDF file cannot be set in Reader; however, they can be set using Adobe Acrobat software. With security settings, authors can define who can open, view, print, copy or modify a document. These capabilities help organisations protect the confidentiality of sensitive information. With access privileges, authors can define a password that users will need to open the document or they can use a certificate ID to encrypt the document so select recipients can open it by entering their own, unique certificate IDs.
Are Adobe Document Cloud services secure?
Yes. At Adobe, security practices are deeply ingrained in our internal culture, software development, and service operations processes. Whether related to identity management, data confidentiality or document integrity, Adobe Document Cloud services employ leading-edge security practices to protect your documents, data and personal identifiable information to the highest degree possible.
For additional information about our company security practices, the Adobe Secure Product Lifecycle or Adobe Document Cloud solution security, see the Adobe Security pages.
