Remove metadata from a PDF
See the name, software and dates hidden in a PDF, and strip them before it goes out.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Works offline after first visit
- Open source
- No watermark · limit is your device’s memory; phones hold less
Shows and removes the hidden author, software, dates, XMP data and file ID in a PDF. It is free, needs no account and adds no watermark, and your files are not uploaded: everything runs in your browser on your device. The size limit is your device’s memory, and phones hold less; give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use, and then it works offline.
Done
Open the network tab. Your files never appear in it.
Add files and run the tool to see every request this tab makes.
Your files are processed on this device and never sent to a server. Reload the page to clear everything from memory.
How it works
- Drop one or more PDFs, or tap to pick them. The metadata each one carries is listed straight away.
- Press Remove metadata.
- Download the cleaned PDFs. They keep their names, pages, text and links; only the metadata is gone.
In your browser, not on a server
pdf-lib (MIT) parses the PDF in your tab (an encrypted file is first decrypted by qpdf, compiled to WebAssembly and served from this site). The trailer’s information dictionary and file ID are dropped, every /Metadata XMP stream and /PieceInfo entry is unlinked from the catalog, pages, images and fonts, and every object nothing refers to any more is deleted before the file is written back out, so the removed data is really gone rather than just hidden.
Compared with upload-based tools: The PDFs people clean before sharing are the ones where the author matters: CVs, legal filings, reports sent anonymously, documents for a client who should not see who drafted them. Uploading them to a metadata-removal site hands the full document, name included, to a stranger. Here your files are not uploaded.
Verify it yourself. Give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode and run the tool again. Or open your browser's developer tools (F12, or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac), pick the Network tab, and watch it while you convert. The panel above does the same count for you.
Questions
What metadata does a PDF carry?
Usually the author (often your full name or your computer’s user name, taken from Word or your operating system), the title, the program that created it and the one that made the PDF, with version numbers, and the dates it was created and last changed. Many PDFs also carry an XMP packet repeating all that, sometimes with edit history, and some apps add private data (PieceInfo) and a unique file ID.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The file is read and rewritten by code running in your browser tab, so a CV, contract, legal filing or anonymous tip never leaves your device. The page works with Wi-Fi off after one visit and a short wait.
Does it change the document itself?
No. Pages, text, fonts, images, links, bookmarks and form fields are kept as they are. Only the information dictionary, XMP metadata, PieceInfo private data, the file ID and any objects nothing refers to any more are removed.
Why keep the same file name?
A name like report-clean.pdf would itself tell people the file was scrubbed. Rename it yourself if you want to; the name you give a file is not stored inside it.
Does it remove everything that could identify me?
It removes the document metadata. It cannot know about names written in the text itself, in comments, in headers and footers, or in the EXIF data of photos placed on the pages. Check the visible content, and remove photo metadata with the remove EXIF tool before you put photos into a document.
Can I just see the metadata without removing it?
Yes. Drop the PDF and read the list; nothing is changed until you press Remove metadata, and the file on your device is never changed at all, because the cleaned copy is a new download.
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Guides
- How to remove metadata from a PDFA PDF often says who made it, with what, and when, without showing any of it on the page. Here is how to see it and remove it before you share the file.