How to view and remove PDF metadata
Last updated: September 6, 2026
PDFs can carry more than they show. Common Info fields include author and producer, while dates, XMP, attachments and other content may also exist. This guide shows what the local tool can inspect and which six fields it can clear.
Use our free PDF Metadata Viewer & Remover tool. It runs in your browser.
Viewing and clearing the hidden fields
- Open the PDF Metadata tool.
- Select or drag in your PDF to display common Info fields, with nothing uploaded.
- Review the displayed title, author, subject, keywords, software and dates. Loading can update software fields and dates, so this is not an exact audit of the original.
- Tick Clear six Info fields in the download to clear Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer. Page content is not intentionally changed, but other data remains.
What a PDF quietly records
These fields live inside the file but never appear on the printed page, and word processors and PDF exporters usually fill them in for you without asking.
| Field | What it typically holds | Why it can matter |
|---|---|---|
| Title, Subject, Keywords | Descriptive text, often a working file name or draft topic | Can reveal an internal codename or an earlier title |
| Author | The account name of whoever created the document | Names you in a document meant to be anonymous |
| Creator & Producer | The application and the PDF library that made the file | Fingerprints your software setup and versions |
| Creation & Modification dates | Dates some viewers display from the file | Can add context, but this tool does not clear them |
Why it is worth clearing before you share
Metadata can disclose details that are absent from the pages. An anonymous peer review may carry a name in the author field, and a company deliverable may name its PDF software in the producer field. Many desktop readers show these in a properties panel. Dates deserve caution: they may reflect an export or later software operation rather than the actual time the content was written, and are not proof of a document's history.
Three reasons to review these fields
A jobseeker sending a CV exported from a template may not realise the author field still shows the template creator's name; clearing Author addresses that specific field. A researcher submitting to a double-blind review should follow the publisher's full anonymization requirements, not rely on this tool alone. A small business publishing a public PDF brochure can review common fields for internal titles or software names, while also checking the pages and any embedded data.
How reading and cleaning actually work
A PDF can keep descriptive data in an /Info dictionary, an XMP metadata packet, attachments and other objects. This tool displays common Info values, then clears only Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer. It leaves page content untouched, but it does not claim to clear dates, XMP, custom data, attachments or hidden content.
Frequently asked questions
Does clearing these fields change the visible content?The tool leaves page text, images and layout untouched. It only clears the six listed Info fields, not every hidden data source.
Can I view fields without clearing them? Yes, clearing is optional. This viewer shows common Info fields, not all metadata. Its library can update Producer, Modified and missing default fields while loading, so the display is not an unchanged view of the original.
Will this defeat every form of tracking? No. It clears six selected Info fields and does not touch dates, XMP, custom data, attachments, visible identifiers or intentionally embedded content. Treat it as one layer of caution, not a guarantee.
Do I need an account? No. View and strip as many files as you like, with nothing to sign up for.
Cleaning metadata without a round trip to a server
Reading and clearing these fields happens inside your browser without uploading the PDF. Local processing avoids that upload, but does not prove that a file has been anonymized or sanitized. Keep the original, inspect the saved copy and use specialist validation when disclosure would have serious consequences. For the broader question of when an online tool can be trusted, see are online PDF tools safe? Before publishing, you might also Compress PDF to shrink the file or Merge PDF to combine several documents. Those operations rewrite the PDF, so check the final copy again.