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Remove PDF Metadata

Processed entirely in your browser. Never uploaded to a server.

Read this before you rely on it

This clears document metadata only: the title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer fields, the XMP metadata stream, and optionally the dates. It does not remove anything contained in the pages themselves. Visible text, comments, annotations, form field values, hidden layers, and embedded attachments are all left in place. The output is a PDF with empty properties, not an anonymous document.

Drop a PDF here or click to browse

Processed entirely in your browser. Never uploaded to a server.

Drop a PDF above and the tool lists the document metadata it actually contains. Adjust the options if you want a replacement title or author, then click remove. You get a before and after comparison, with the after column read back out of the finished file.

Where PDF metadata lives, and what this reaches

Document metadata sits in two places in a PDF: an information dictionary holding the title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, and dates, and sometimes a separate XMP metadata stream carrying a second copy of much of the same thing. Some tools read one and some read the other, so clearing only one leaves the information findable. This tool writes the six text fields as empty values and deletes the XMP stream. The two date entries are deleted if you ask for that.

What stays in the file

Everything that is part of a page. That means the visible text and images, comments and other annotations, values typed into form fields, optional content groups (layers) that are hidden or set not to print, files attached to the document, and any identifying information inside an embedded image, such as a photo's own EXIF data. Metadata removal is a properties-level change. Treat it as one step of redaction, not as redaction.

FAQ

What exactly gets removed?
The document information fields: title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer, plus the XMP metadata stream if the file has one. Optionally the creation and modification dates as well. Nothing else.
Does this make the PDF anonymous?
No, and it would be wrong to describe it that way. This tool only clears document-level metadata. It does not touch anything inside the pages, so visible text, comments, annotations, form field values, hidden or non-printing layers, embedded attachments, and identifying detail inside images all remain exactly as they were. A name in the letterhead is still a name in the letterhead.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is read and rewritten in your browser. It is never uploaded, which also means the metadata you are trying to get rid of is never sent to a server on the way to being removed.
Are the fields deleted or emptied?
The six text fields are written as empty values, so a PDF reader shows blank properties rather than the old values. If you choose to clear the dates, those two entries are deleted from the file outright, because writing a substitute date would mean inventing information.
Why does the output still list a producer in some readers?
It should not. This tool explicitly writes an empty producer and stops the PDF library from stamping its own name in on save. If a reader shows something, it is reading a value from elsewhere in the file, such as a per-page or embedded-file entry that document-level metadata editing does not reach.
Does it work on password-protected PDFs?
It can read the metadata of an encrypted PDF, but it will not rewrite one. Removing the password first is a separate step that this tool does not do.
Does this remove the owner password or permissions on a PDF?
No, and that is a different thing from what this tool does. An owner or permissions password restricts what a reader can do with the file (printing, editing, copying) and is separate from the Author, Title, and other metadata fields this tool clears. This tool does not remove passwords or permission restrictions, and it will not rewrite a file that is encrypted at all.
Are the pages changed at all?
No. Page content is copied through untouched, so text stays selectable and image quality is unchanged. Only the metadata dictionary is rewritten.

Stripping metadata before sharing a document? You may also want Compress PDF to cut the file size, or Merge PDF to combine documents first. Metadata in images is a separate matter, handled by Compress Image, which re-encodes the pixels and does not carry EXIF across.

Photos aren't the only files carrying hidden data — see the EXIF/GPS privacy guide.