How to Edit or Remove PDF Metadata Online Free

Every PDF you create contains hidden metadata — your name, the software used, creation dates, and sometimes even editing history. Before sharing a document publicly or with clients, stripping this metadata protects your privacy and prevents leaking sensitive information about your workflow and identity.

What Metadata PDFs Contain

• Author name — Your name or your organization's name
• Title — Document title (may contain sensitive project names)
• Subject — Document description or category
• Creator — Application that created the PDF (e.g., "Microsoft Word", "Adobe InDesign")
• Producer — PDF library or tool used to generate the file
• Creation date — When the document was originally created
• Modification date — When the document was last edited
• Annotations — Comments, notes, and markup from reviewers
• Embedded files — Attachments that may contain additional metadata

Why Strip Metadata?

• Privacy — Remove your name and organization from documents shared publicly
• Anonymity — Submit documents for review without revealing your identity
• Security — Hide software versions that could reveal vulnerabilities
• Professionalism — Present clean documents without internal notes or comments
• Compliance — Meet data protection requirements for document handling

How to Clean PDF Metadata in 3 Steps

1. Upload your PDF — Select the document containing metadata you want to remove.
2. Review detected metadata — The tool displays all metadata fields found in your document.
3. Strip and download — Choose which metadata to remove and download the cleaned PDF.

What Gets Removed

• Document Information Dictionary (title, author, subject, keywords)
• Creator and producer software fields
• Creation and modification timestamps
• All annotations, comments, and sticky notes
• Embedded files and attachments
• Document-level JavaScript and actions

Prefer to Edit Metadata Instead of Removing It?

Some documents need better metadata, not less — proper titles and authors make files easier to find, help search engines index public PDFs, and look professional when shared. The free PDF Metadata Editor lets you update the fields in place:

• Title — the name displayed in PDF readers and search results
• Author — the creator or organization behind the document
• Subject — a short description of the document's content
• Keywords — tags that improve searchability in document libraries

Upload the PDF, edit the fields shown, and download the updated file — processed in your browser like all PDFTools editors.