The tool reads the PDF's info dictionary and shows Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer and both timestamps. Pressing Strip clears every field, nulls the dates, and deletes the XMP metadata stream entirely. Pages, text, images, forms and annotations are untouched.
Metadata is only one of the ways a document identifies its source. Visible names, comments, form values and photo EXIF data are separate problems with separate tools, listed below.
A résumé exported from Word carries the Windows account name of whoever made it, which is fine until the account name is a former employer's template. A leaked memo carries the author's login. A delivered report carries the title "Q3 board pack DRAFT v7" and a modification date two hours after the meeting. None of this is on the page, and all of it is one Properties dialog away from the reader.
How to remove metadata from a PDF
Add the PDF
Drop it or browse. It is read into browser memory; nothing is uploaded.
Read what is inside
The tool prints the current Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, creation date and modification date. This is what any recipient can see in a Properties dialog.
Press Strip metadata
Every field is cleared, both timestamps are nulled, and the XMP stream is removed. The file is rewritten with pdf-lib.
Download the clean copy
Check it by opening Properties in any reader: every field should be empty.
Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, both dates, and the XML sidecar.
Text, images, layout, forms and annotations are exactly as they were.
A document you are anonymising should never pass through someone else's server.
What each field leaks
- AuthorYour name or login, often from a template
- TitleThe working name of the source document
- Creator and ProducerThe software and version that made the file
- Creation and modification datesWhen it was really made and last changed
- Subject and KeywordsFiling tags, client codes, internal labels
- XMP streamAll of the above again, in XML, plus history
The dates deserve a moment. A document claimed to be written on Monday with a creation date of Thursday is a contradiction anyone can check. Files that are re-saved carry a modification date that reveals the last edit, and the XMP stream in files from Adobe products can carry an edit history with several timestamps. Nulling all of them removes the contradiction rather than inventing a new one.
What stripping does not touch
Metadata lives beside the document. The document itself can identify its source in ways no metadata tool reaches, and a serious anonymisation checks each of them.
The record beside the pages
- Author, Title, Subject, Keywords
- Creator and Producer strings
- Creation and modification dates
- The XMP metadata stream
Identity inside the pages
- Names, emails and account numbers in the text: redact
- Comments, sticky notes and form values: flatten first, then redact if needed
- Photos with EXIF location and camera data: strip the images, rebuild with Images to PDF
- Custom corporate fonts that identify the organisation: rare, and beyond a browser tool
Who strips metadata, and why
- Journalists and their sources. A document published with its author field intact has ended careers. Reporters strip before publishing, and careful sources strip before sending.
- Job applicants. A CV whose Author is a previous employer's name, or whose Title is "CV template 2019", reads badly. Strip before sending.
- Lawyers and consultants. Client deliverables carry internal document IDs, matter codes in Keywords, and reviewers' names. Strip before it leaves the firm.
- Anyone posting publicly. A PDF on a website is indexed with its metadata. Clear it before uploading.
Where metadata comes from in the first place
Nobody types these fields. They are filled in by whatever made the file. Word writes the account name of the logged-in user as Author and the first heading as Title. Acrobat and macOS Preview add their own Producer strings on every save. Scanner apps stamp the device model. A file that has passed through three tools carries three layers of history, and the XMP stream in particular can hold every one of them.
Set from the Office account at first save. Rarely what you would choose to publish.
Or the working filename, including the DRAFT v7 you meant to rename.
Each application appends its own, so the chain reveals every stop the file made.
Verifying the result
One thing to know about signatures: clearing metadata changes the file's bytes, so a certificate signature applied before stripping is invalidated. Strip first, then sign, if a document needs both.
Why it runs in your browser
The reason to strip metadata is that a document must not be traceable to its source. Uploading that document to a metadata-removal website hands a stranger's server a copy with the metadata still in it, which is the opposite of the goal.
The tool is right above
Everything on this page runs in your browser. Scroll up, drop the file, and keep it on your machine.
Common questions
What people ask with the fields on screen.
01What metadata does a PDF carry?
Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, the software that created and produced it, and creation and modification dates. Many files also carry an XMP stream, an XML block repeating those fields and sometimes an edit history.
02Why remove metadata?
The Author field often names the real person who made the file, the Title reveals the working name of the source, and the dates can contradict a claimed timeline. Journalists, applicants, lawyers and anyone publishing a document strip it to keep those details off the record.
03Does this remove the text or comments in the document?
04Will this invalidate a signature?
Stripping changes the file's bytes, so a certificate signature applied earlier is invalidated. Strip first, then sign.
05Do embedded photos keep their EXIF data?
Yes. Image metadata lives inside the image streams and is not touched. Strip the photos in an image tool and rebuild the PDF from the clean copies if location or camera data matters.
06How can I check it worked?
Open the downloaded file in any reader and view its Properties or Document Info. Every field should be blank. That dialog is exactly what a recipient sees.
07Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole process runs in your browser and the file never leaves the device.
08Is it free?
Free. Every tool, unlimited use, no signup.