Remove PDF Metadata
Remove metadata from a PDF in your browser — author, software, timestamps, revision IDs and the hidden XMP copy of all of it. See what's there first. No upload.
- ProcessingOn your device
- Uploaded to a serverNothing
- InternetNot needed
Don't take our word for it. Turn off your Wi‑Fi, then use this tool. It will work exactly the same, which is only possible because your file never goes anywhere.
Worth knowing
Metadata lives in more than one place. Most tools clear the document properties and stop, leaving a second copy of your name and software in the XMP packet — an XML block attached to the file that few people know is there. This reads the properties, the XMP, the file identifiers and any private data the producing application left behind, and shows you all of it before removing anything.
This does not touch the pages. Text that names you inside the document is content, not metadata — for that, use Redact PDF. Images can also carry their own EXIF data, which is not read here.
What your PDF is telling people
Open the properties of almost any PDF and it will name the person who wrote it, the software they used, the version of that software, the exact minute the file was created and the exact minute it was last touched. Files that have been through a design application often carry a job title, a company name, and a chain of identifiers linking this copy to every earlier draft.
None of it is visible on the page. All of it travels with the file — into the email you attach it to, the tender you submit, the court filing, the CV. It is the reason a redacted document can still identify its author, and the reason two anonymous submissions can be shown to have come from the same machine.
The part most tools miss
There is not one place metadata lives. There are usually two, and clearing the obvious one is the standard mistake.
- The document properties — the Info dictionary. Title, author, subject, keywords, creating and producing software, creation and modification dates. This is what a metadata tool clears.
- The XMP packet — an XML block attached to the file that duplicates most of the above, and adds document and revision identifiers that tie the file to its earlier versions. Clearing the properties does not touch it.
- The file identifiers, a pair of values in the trailer that link revisions of the same document together.
- Application-private data, left by the program that produced the file. Illustrator and InDesign can leave sizeable blocks of it.
A tool that clears the first and reports success is worse than no tool, because it replaces a known risk with a false sense of safety. Everything found here is listed with the place it came from, so you can see for yourself what your file was carrying and what is about to go.
Why identifying fields are ticked already
Most people arrive here about to send a file somewhere, wanting their name, their employer's software licence and the timestamp off it. Making them work through eleven checkboxes to get that is the wrong default. Everything that identifies a person or a machine is selected when the file loads, everything descriptive — the title, the subject, the keywords — is not, and you can change either.
What this does not do
It does not touch the pages. If your name is typed inside the document, that is content rather than metadata, and no metadata tool will remove it — you want Redact PDF, which takes it out of the page itself. Images placed in the PDF can also carry their own EXIF data, including camera model and sometimes GPS coordinates, which is a separate layer this does not reach into.
For information printed on the page rather than attached to the file, use Redact PDF, which removes the words themselves. If the document is a scan you also want searchable, run OCR over it first — the text layer it adds is content, so clean the metadata afterwards.
The file is read and rewritten in this tab and never sent anywhere, which matters more here than almost anywhere: sending a document to a stranger's server to improve its privacy is an odd trade. More on why that distinction matters.
Questions people ask
What metadata does a PDF actually carry?
More than people expect. The document properties hold the title, author, subject, keywords, the software that created and produced it, and the exact times it was created and last modified. Beyond that, most modern PDFs carry an XMP packet — an XML block duplicating much of the same information, plus document and revision identifiers that link the file to earlier versions of itself. Adobe applications frequently leave private application data on top of that.
Why do other tools miss things?
Because clearing the document properties is easy and clearing the XMP packet is not. A tool that only does the first reports success while your name is still sitting in the XML, which is worse than not running one at all — you would at least know to check. Everything found here is listed with where it came from, so you can see the difference for yourself.
Will removing metadata change how my document looks?
No. Metadata is information about the file rather than content in it, so the pages, text, images and layout are all untouched. The file usually gets very slightly smaller.
Does this remove my name from inside the document?
No, and the distinction matters. If your name is typed on page three, that is content — use Redact PDF, which removes it from the page itself. This tool handles the invisible information attached to the file: who made it, with what, and when.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The PDF is read and rewritten inside your browser, so it works with the network switched off. Given that the whole point is privacy, sending the file to a server to have its privacy improved would be an odd trade.
How to use it
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