How to Remove Metadata from a PDF
A PDF carries more than its pages. Its document information can include the title, the author name, the program that made it, and the creation and edit dates. Some files also hold an XMP block with extra details.
Steps
- Open the PDF metadata tool. Drop in your PDF. The tool shows each field it found.
- Clear or edit the fields. Remove everything, or change a field such as the title and keep the rest.
- Download the new PDF. Save the cleaned file and check it by opening its properties in your PDF viewer.
Good to know
Metadata is not the same as content. Comments, annotations, hidden layers and text inside the pages are not removed by clearing the document properties.
If the PDF holds sensitive text that must disappear, covering it with a black box is not enough. See the guide on redacting a PDF.
Before you share a contract, a CV or a report, ask whether the author name and the dates are something you want to give away.