Every PDF carries information you can't see on the page: the title, the author's name, which program made it, when it was created and last changed. That information travels with the file wherever it goes. Most of the time it's harmless, but sometimes it isn't. A document you've sent to a client might reveal the name of the colleague who wrote it, the software, or a draft title like "FINAL v3 (do not send)". This tool shows you what's inside, lets you change it, or removes it entirely.
What metadata is in a PDF
The main fields are Title, Author, Subject and Keywords, which are what you see in "Document properties" in a PDF reader. Then there's Creator (the program that made the original, such as a word processor) and Producer (the program that turned it into a PDF), plus the creation and modification dates. Some files also contain a separate block called XMP metadata with similar information and more. This tool reads the standard fields and tells you whether an XMP block is present.
How to edit it
- Open your PDF. The current values appear in the fields.
- Change anything you like: fix a wrong title, correct the author, add keywords separated by commas.
- Click Save changes. A new file is downloaded; your original is untouched.
A proper title is worth setting. Browsers and readers show the title in the tab or window bar, search engines may use it as the result title for a PDF, and screen-reader users hear it when the file opens. A title like "scan0042" is unhelpful to everyone.
Removing all metadata
The Remove ALL metadata button builds a clean copy of the document with no author, title, software or dates. The pages themselves are copied exactly, so what's on the page doesn't change. One thing to know: the clean copy doesn't carry over bookmarks or form fields, because those are document-level features, not page content. If you need those, edit the fields instead of removing everything, or flatten forms first with Flatten PDF.
Why people clean metadata
- Privacy: a CV or report may carry your full name or a company's name that you'd rather not show.
- Journalism and whistleblowing: metadata has exposed the source of many leaked documents.
- Client work: remove internal project names, template names and earlier draft titles.
- Anonymous review: academic journals often ask for manuscripts with no author information.
- GDPR hygiene: names in file properties are personal data, and removing them is part of sharing only what's needed.
A worked example
You've exported a proposal from a word processor and the file properties say Author: "Anna Weber", Creator: "Microsoft Word", Title: "Proposal v7 FINAL FINAL". You want the client to see a proper title and no personal name. Open it here, set the title to "Website Redesign Proposal", clear the author field, and save. Now when the client opens Document Properties, they see a professional title and nothing else. Total time: thirty seconds.
Metadata is only part of the story
Properties aren't the only hidden details. Text can sit under a black rectangle, and a comment can carry someone's name. For hiding content on the page, use Redact PDF, which removes it for real. For other signals that identify a copy, a watermark shows who the document is for. And before you send, compressing the file makes it easier to email, while Split PDF lets you share only the pages that matter.
Good to know
The dates shown are those stored in the file, which may not match when you actually wrote it. If you've saved the PDF from another program, those dates reflect that program. When you save changes here, the modification date is set to now. And as with every tool on this site, the file is processed in your browser and never uploaded, so it's safe to inspect confidential documents.
Troubleshooting
If a field appears blank, the file simply doesn't have that value; that's common for scanned documents. If the changes don't show in your reader straight away, close and reopen the file, because some readers cache properties. If a document seems to have lost bookmarks, you used the clean-copy option, which doesn't carry them over; use Save changes instead. And if you need to check what someone else's file reveals, open it here before you forward it on.
Good titles and keywords
A good title is short, specific and in plain words: "Tenancy Agreement, 14 Rose Street" beats "Document1". Keywords are optional and mainly useful for your own search tools and archives; separate them with commas and keep them relevant. Authors can be a person, a team or a company name, depending on how you want the file to be attributed.
If you manage many documents, a consistent approach to titles and authors makes your files much easier to search. Decide on a pattern, such as "Client – Document type – Date", and apply it every time you export, so your archive stays tidy for years.