What is PDF metadata?
PDF metadata is information a PDF stores about itself, separate from the text and images on its pages. Most PDF viewers show it in a “Document properties” panel. The standard fields are:
- Title
- The document's title. This is often what a browser tab shows, and it may differ from the file name.
- Author
- Frequently filled in automatically from the computer account or app profile of whoever created the file.
- Subject and Keywords
- Descriptive text and search terms, sometimes left over from a template.
- Creator
- The application the document was originally made in, such as a word processor.
- Producer
- The software that converted or wrote the PDF, often with a version number.
- Creation and modification dates
- When the file was made and last changed, usually including a time zone.
Many PDFs also carry XMP metadata: an XML copy of these details that can add document IDs, editing history and tool information. This tool shows and removes both. If you'd rather change values than remove them, use the PDF Metadata Editor.
Why remove metadata from a PDF?
Metadata is useful inside an organisation, but once a file leaves your hands it can say more than you intended. Common reasons to clean it first:
- Publishing publicly: anyone who downloads the file can read its properties.
- Client handoff: a template's original author or an internal title can travel with the final version.
- Job applications: a résumé exported from a template may list someone else as the author, or show old dates.
- Anonymous or blind submissions: an author field can undo anonymous review.
- Sharing outside your organisation: software versions and internal naming are rarely needed by the recipient.
Does removing metadata remove everything hidden in a PDF?
No. Metadata is only one part of a PDF. Depending on how it was made, a file can also contain:
- comments and review replies,
- annotations such as highlights, sticky notes and drawings,
- values typed into form fields,
- embedded file attachments,
- document actions or scripts that run when the file opens.
These need separate inspection. The Comment Remover handles supported comments, and a flattening tool is planned. The PDF Privacy Checker shows what this version of PDFSanitize can detect in a file. Names can also appear in the visible text itself, so read the document before you share it.
How this tool cleans and checks your file
The PDF is read in your browser, its document information and XMP metadata are removed, and a new copy is rebuilt. Objects no longer used by the document, such as leftovers from earlier edits, are left out of the new copy. The tool then re-opens the file it just created and reports what it finds, field by field, instead of assuming the removal worked.
Two side effects to know about: rebuilding a digitally signed PDF invalidates its signature, and a PDF/A file no longer declares PDF/A conformance once its XMP metadata is removed. The tool warns you when it detects either.