PDF Metadata Remover

How to use the pdf metadata remover

1. Choose your PDF and read what it currently discloses.
2. Remove the metadata.
3. Check the after column, then download.

About this tool

PDF document properties carry more than people realise. The author field is usually the account name of whoever created the file. The creator field names the software, and often its version. The title is frequently the original filename, draft name and all. The dates record when it was made and last edited. None of that appears on the page, and all of it travels with the file.

This clears the title, author, subject, keywords, creator and the creation date, and shows you the before and after so the result is verifiable rather than promised.

Two fields cannot be emptied, and saying so matters more than the tool appearing tidy. The library that rewrites the file always stamps its own name into the Producer field, so the result reads "pdf-lib", and it always writes the current time into the modification date. Both replace what was there before — which is the identifying part — but neither ends up blank, and the modified date will show when you ran this rather than nothing at all. Any tool using the same approach while claiming to erase everything is not telling you the truth.

Be clear about scope too. This removes document properties, not content. Text, images, embedded fonts and anything visible on the page are untouched, and text hidden under a black rectangle is still text. If you need content genuinely removed, that is redaction, and it is a different and much harder job.

Common uses

• Stripping your name from a document before sending it externally.
• Removing internal draft titles from a published file.
• Clearing dates that reveal when work was actually done.

Frequently asked questions

Does this remove everything?

Nearly. Producer is rewritten to say pdf-lib and the modification date becomes the moment you ran the tool — neither can be emptied. Title, author, subject, keywords, creator and the creation date are all genuinely cleared, and the before-and-after table shows it.

Does it remove text hidden under a black box?

No. This clears document properties, not content. Text covered by a rectangle is still text and can be selected. That is redaction, which is a different and much harder problem.

Is my document uploaded?

No — which is rather the point. Sending a file somewhere to strip its metadata would defeat the purpose.