TweakPDF

Remove metadata from a PDF

A PDF often records who made it, in which app and when. Open your file here to see what it says about itself, keep the box Remove metadata ticked and download a clean copy: the author, the title, the app names, the dates, the XMP data and the file ID are gone, and the pages look exactly as before.

Drop a PDF here

Up to 25 MB · up to 100 pages

Three files a month, free. Sign in with Google when you download.

What PDF metadata is

Besides its pages, a PDF carries a small record about itself. Word, Google Docs, Pages, scanners and design apps fill it in on export: your name or your company’s as the author, the document title, the app and the PDF converter, and the date and time it was made and last changed.

Anyone can read it. In Acrobat Reader it is under File > Properties, in macOS Preview under Tools > Show Inspector, and many browsers and file managers show it too. Sending a CV, a contract, an offer or a report as a PDF sends this record along with it.

What TweakPDF removes

  • Document properties

    Title, author, subject, keywords, the app that made the file, the PDF converter, and the creation and modification dates.

  • XMP metadata

    The XML copy of the same details that many apps add, often with more in it: edit history, document IDs, the app version.

  • Private app data

    Data Adobe apps and others keep on pages and images for themselves, and XMP packets attached to pages and pictures.

  • The file ID

    The identifier written on the first save, which ties every later copy back to the original file. The clean copy gets a new one.

What stays

Everything you see on the pages: text, images, fonts and layout. Nothing is converted or flattened, so the text can still be searched and copied, and links still work.

Removing metadata does not touch what is on the page. Comments, filled-in form fields and attachments stay in the file. If a name or a date is printed on the page itself, change or delete it in the same editor before you download.

See the metadata before you remove it

When the file opens, the panel beside the pages lists what it records: title, author, app, converter and dates. The values are struck through while Remove metadata is ticked, so you can see what is about to go. Untick it to keep them.

The box is in the preview too, just above the download button, for a last check. Together with text edits or a signature it is still one file to download.

When to remove it

Before you send a CV made from someone else’s template, a contract or offer reworked from an old one, a report written on a work computer, or an anonymous review. Before you publish a PDF on a website. Any time the file should say only what is on its pages.

How to remove metadata from a PDF

  1. 1

    Open the PDF

    Drop the file on this page or press Choose file. It opens in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install.

  2. 2

    Check the panel

    The Metadata panel lists the title, the author, the apps and the dates. Remove metadata is already ticked on this page.

  3. 3

    Download the clean copy

    Press Preview & download, then sign in with Google and download. The copy has no metadata and the same pages.

Questions about PDF metadata

How do I see the metadata of a PDF?
Open it here: the Metadata panel lists the title, the author, the apps and the dates. In Acrobat Reader they are under File > Properties, in macOS Preview under Tools > Show Inspector.
How do I remove the author from a PDF?
Open the PDF here, keep Remove metadata ticked and download. The author goes with the rest of the document properties and the XMP data, where it is often written a second time.
Does removing metadata change the pages?
No. The pages, the text, the fonts and the images stay as they were; only the record about the file is taken out.
Can I edit text and remove metadata at the same time?
Yes. Change words, erase lines or add a signature, keep the box ticked, and download once. It counts as one file.
Is it free?
Yes, 3 files a month are free. You open the file and see its metadata without an account and sign in with Google only to download. Pro costs $6 a month for up to 1000 files.
Do you keep my file?
No. The file is deleted from the server two hours after you stop working, or right away when you press Delete file now.

See what your PDF says about itself

Open the file, read the Metadata panel and download a copy without it.

Choose a PDF