What is PDF metadata?
PDF metadata is information a PDF stores about itself, separate from the text and images you see on its pages. PDF readers usually show it in a “Document properties” or “File info” panel. Software adds most of it automatically when a document is created or exported, so it's common for a file to carry metadata its author never typed.
What can PDF metadata contain?
The PDF format defines a small set of standard document properties:
- Title
- A document title, which can differ from both the file name and the heading on the first page.
- Author
- The person, account or organisation recorded as the document's author, if any.
- Subject
- A short free-text description of the document.
- Keywords
- Search terms or tags, sometimes inherited from a template.
- Creator
- The application the original document was made in, such as a word processor or design tool.
- Producer
- The software that generated the PDF itself, for example an export feature or print-to-PDF driver.
- Creation date
- A timestamp recorded when the document was created, often with a time zone.
- Modification date
- A timestamp associated with the most recent change to the document.
Some files also store custom document properties, such as a company, department or project name, alongside these standard fields. The viewer above lists them when they exist.
What is XMP metadata in a PDF?
Many PDFs keep a second metadata record in a format called XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform), stored as XML inside the file. It often repeats the author, title and dates from the standard fields, and it can add unique document and instance IDs, the name of the creating tool, and archival identifiers such as a PDF/A declaration. Because the two records are separate, a PDF can show one value in its standard properties and another in XMP. The viewer shows a readable summary of the XMP record rather than raw XML.
How to view PDF metadata
- Drop a PDF onto the viewer above, or choose one from your device.
- Read the standard fields in the table. Select the info button next to a field for a short explanation.
- Check the sections below it for custom properties and XMP metadata, if the file has any.
Most desktop PDF readers can also show document properties, usually from a File or Document Properties menu. Those panels often show only the standard fields, so custom properties and XMP details are easy to miss there.
Why can different apps show different metadata?
Because a PDF can hold both standard properties and an XMP record, apps may read different sources. One reader might show the author from the standard fields while another prefers XMP, and editing software sometimes updates one record but not the other. Seeing both side by side, as this viewer does, makes those differences easy to spot.
Can PDF metadata reveal who created the file?
It can sometimes provide identifying clues, such as an Author field filled in from a computer account, or creator and producer software that hints at how the file was made. But metadata accuracy depends entirely on how the document was created: fields can be empty, inherited from a template, or edited by anyone. Treat metadata as a clue about a file's history, not as proof of who wrote it.
Is viewing PDF metadata the same as checking PDF privacy?
No. Metadata is one part of a PDF. A document can also contain comments, annotations, form data, embedded attachments, scripts and, of course, the page contents themselves, and none of those are metadata. To see the privacy-related information PDFSanitize can currently detect, including document characteristics such as signature structures, use the PDF Privacy Checker.
How can I remove PDF metadata?
If you'd rather not share what you found, the PDF Metadata Remover removes the standard fields, custom properties and XMP metadata, creates a cleaned copy in your browser, and then re-reads that copy to confirm what, if anything, remains. Your original file isn't changed. To change values rather than remove them, use the PDF Metadata Editor.