PDFBook's Detect Hidden Text tool scans a PDF for text you can't see but a machine can still read: invisible text, fully transparent text, white-on-white text, near-zero font sizes, and text positioned off the visible page. These are the exact tricks used to plant prompt injection inside PDFs — so an AI resume screener, summarizer, or other AI tool that reads documents follows hidden instructions a person never sees — and to keyword-stuff resumes against ATS filters. Everything runs in your browser. Your file is never uploaded.
Key Facts
- Detects five hidden-text tricks: invisible text, fully transparent text, white or background-colored text, near-zero font size, and off-page placement
- Built for prompt injection checks: surfaces instructions hidden from human readers but still visible to AI that reads the PDF
- Flags the common tricks and extracts the hidden text into a downloadable report. Review the output before trusting a document
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a PDF prompt injection?
A PDF prompt injection hides instructions inside a document — usually as invisible, white, or tiny text — so a human reader never sees them, but AI that reads the PDF's text (a resume screener, summarizer, or other AI tool that reads documents) picks them up and may follow them. PDFBook's Detect Hidden Text tool surfaces this hidden text so you can see what an AI would actually read.
How do I find hidden or invisible text in a PDF?
Open PDFBook's Detect Hidden Text tool, drop in your PDF, and click Process. It scans every page for invisible, transparent, white, near-zero-size, and off-page text, then downloads a report listing each finding with the page number, why it was hidden, and the hidden text itself. It runs entirely in your browser, so even sensitive PDFs stay private.
Can recruiters or ATS detect white text on a resume?
Many modern systems can, and PDFBook makes it easy to check yours. White-on-white or tiny keyword stuffing is a long-standing resume trick that increasingly backfires. Run your resume through the Detect Hidden Text tool to see exactly what hidden text it contains before a recruiter or ATS flags it.
Is it safe to scan an untrusted PDF for hidden text?
Yes. PDFBook processes the file entirely in your browser and never uploads it. The tool only reads and extracts text — it does not run anything inside the PDF — so it is a safe way to inspect a suspicious or untrusted document.
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