Can the PDF authenticity checker detect all types of modifications?

Our PDF modification detection system can identify most common types of PDF alterations including:

• Metadata changes (creation dates, modification dates, creator/producer information)
• Structural modifications (xref table changes, incremental updates, object-level changes)
• Post-creation content modifications (page additions, object insertions, structural edits)
• Digital signature tampering

The most important limitation is not technical — it is fundamental: the tool detects modifications to existing PDF files. It cannot detect documents created from scratch with false content. If someone creates a fake bank statement in Microsoft Word and exports it to PDF, the result will show as Intact, because the file was never modified after creation. Always check the creation date and consider the document’s claimed origin alongside the analysis result.

Additionally, PDFs created with consumer software (Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, Google Docs, print-to-PDF drivers) will show a Cannot Determine result rather than Intact, because anyone can create any document from scratch with these tools.

Other technical limitations: password-protected PDFs cannot be analyzed, extremely sophisticated manipulation techniques using specialized tools may sometimes evade detection, and PDFs with corrupted metadata may produce unexpected results. For critical legal or financial documents, use our service alongside other fraud-detection methods.