Remove metadata from a PDF
See who made a PDF, with what and when, then download a clean copy without it: author, title, app, dates, XMP and earlier saved versions. Your document never leaves this tab.
- Free, no sign-up
- Never uploaded
- Verified after cleaning
PDF metadata remover
See and remove author, dates and hidden versions
Drop PDFs here or choose files
Any PDF up to 200 MB. Several at once, read and rewritten in this tab.
- Never uploaded
- Earlier versions removed
- Verified by re-reading
Stays on your device. Your file is processed right here in this browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.
Updated October 2026
Quick answer
To remove metadata from a PDF, clear both its document properties and its XMP metadata, then save a fresh copy rather than saving over the file. Most PDFs store the author, title, creator app and dates twice, once in each place, and a PDF saved over itself can keep its earlier versions inside. The tool above does all three in your browser and reads the copy back to confirm. It does not remove anything visible on the pages: that is redaction, a different job.
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What is hiding in the file
See who made it and when
None of this appears on the pages. All of it travels with the file, and any PDF viewer shows it under Document Properties.
Who wrote it
The Author field usually holds the account name of whoever created the file, often a full name that is not on any page.
What it was made with
Creator and Producer name the app and version: Word, Pages, a scanner driver or an internal reporting system.
When it was made and changed
Creation and modification dates, sometimes with a time zone, that can contradict the date printed on the document.
What it used to say
A PDF saved over itself can keep earlier versions inside the same file, old title and author included.
How it works
How to remove metadata from a PDF
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop one or more PDF files on the tool, or press Choose PDFs. They are opened in your browser tab, not sent anywhere.
- 2
See what it says about itself
The tool lists the document properties and XMP metadata it found: author, title, the app it was made with, creation and modification dates, plus anything else worth knowing, such as earlier saved versions or comments.
- 3
Let it remove the metadata
A clean copy is written straight away without document properties, XMP, the file ID or earlier versions. Tick the comments option to remove notes and highlights as well.
- 4
Download the clean PDF
The copy is read back to verify it before you download it. Share the clean copy, not the original.
The usual question
Remove the author from a PDF
The author name is usually filled in by the app that made the PDF, from the name on your computer or account. It is stored in the document properties and again in the XMP metadata. Clearing the Author box in a PDF editor often changes only the first, so the name is still in the file.
If the PDF was edited and saved several times, an older author can also survive in an earlier saved version appended inside the file. Comments add one more place: every note and highlight is signed with its author’s name.
The tool removes the first three and, if you tick the option, the comments too. Then it reads the clean copy back and checks that none of the original names or titles are still inside.
The honest limit
What this does not remove, and why it is not redaction
Metadata is information about a document. Redaction removes information in it. This tool does the first, reports what it finds of the second, and changes nothing on your pages.
Removed
- Document properties: title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, dates and custom fields
- XMP metadata on the document, its pages, images and fonts
- Earlier saved versions (incremental updates) and unused objects
- The file ID that links copies of the same document
- Private data editing apps store in the file (PieceInfo)
- Comments, highlights and other markup, if you tick the option
Kept (and reported)
- Text, images and anything else visible on the pages
- Attached files, form fields and what was typed into them
- JavaScript inside the PDF
- EXIF data inside photos placed in the PDF
- Text hidden under a black box drawn on top of it
A black rectangle drawn over text in a PDF hides it from view but leaves the text in the file, where anyone can copy it out. To redact for real, delete the content with a proper redaction feature, or export the pages as images and cover the details there. The redaction guide explains which methods hold up, and the redact image tool covers details with a solid box.
Why there is no upload
A privacy tool should not need your document
Most online PDF tools send your file to their server to process it. Here the file is opened by your browser, rewritten by the open-source pdf-lib library running in this tab, and saved straight back to your device. The page makes no request with your document and stores nothing.
Keep exploring
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FAQ