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Fix Acrobat Reader Mobile Flagging Highlights on iPad
Question details
Users report that selecting previously highlighted or underlined text in Acrobat Reader Mobile causes annotations to appear flagged on the right side.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile
- Device & OS
- iPad (eighth-generation) / iPadOS
- Scenario
- Editing or selecting text in a PDF document with existing annotations.
- Observed behavior
- Previously highlighted or underlined text triggers annotation flags on the right side of the screen upon selection, a behavior introduced after a recent app update.
Ensure your iPadOS is up to date and check the App Store for any pending updates to Adobe Acrobat Reader, as the developers frequently release patches for known bugs.
Wait for the Official Adobe Patch
The Adobe development team has officially acknowledged this behavior as a known issue and is actively working on a fix.
Because this is a recognized bug in the current version of the Acrobat Reader Mobile application, the most reliable long-term solution is to wait for the next update.
In the meantime, you can avoid interacting with previously annotated text unless strictly necessary to prevent the flags from appearing.
Tap the App Store icon on your iPad home screen to check for software updates.
Tap your profile icon in the top right corner and scroll down to the 'Available Updates' section. Look for Adobe Acrobat Reader and tap 'Update' if a new version is available.
Reinstall Acrobat Reader Mobile
Sometimes, reinstalling the app can clear corrupted cached data that may exacerbate UI glitches.
Try WPS Office for Bug-Free PDF Editing on iPad
If you are frustrated by annotation bugs in Acrobat Reader, WPS Office offers a lightweight, fully-featured PDF reader and editor for iPad. It provides seamless highlighting, underlining, and text editing without the annoying flagging glitches.
- 1. Install WPS Office: Search for WPS Office in the App Store and download it to your iPad.
- 2. Open the PDF File: Launch WPS Office and open your PDF document from your local files or cloud storage.
- 3. Apply Annotations: Tap the 'Edit' or 'Annotate' tab to highlight or underline text smoothly without display glitches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my highlights turn into flags on the right side of my iPad screen?
This is a known bug introduced in a recent update to the Acrobat Reader Mobile app. When you select text that already has highlight or underline annotations, the app incorrectly flags them on the user interface.
Can I downgrade my Acrobat Reader app on iPad to a previous version to fix this?
Apple's iPadOS does not officially support rolling back installed apps to earlier versions. You will need to wait for Adobe to release an official patch through the App Store.
Does this highlighting bug affect other devices besides the eighth-generation iPad?
While specifically reported on the 8th-gen iPad, this UI bug is tied to the application's software version rather than the specific hardware. It may affect other iPad models running the same version of Acrobat Reader Mobile.
Will my existing PDF annotations be corrupted by this display bug?
No, the bug only affects how the annotations are displayed on the screen when you select the text. Your original highlights and underlines remain intact and safe within the PDF file structure.
