Remove all hidden metadata from your PDF instantly. Strip author name, creation and modification dates, title, subject, keywords, creator software, producer library, and XMP data packets — without touching the visible content. 100% browser-based, no upload, free forever.
Upload PDF · Inspect metadata · Strip selected fields · Download clean PDF
A few years ago I was freelancing for a media company and submitted a PDF report to a client. A week later they came back and asked why the document was authored by "James Whitfield" — the name of a previous contractor who'd worked on the same project template I'd used. The client thought we'd outsourced the work. I hadn't noticed that the metadata in my Word-turned-PDF still had James's name embedded from when the template was originally created.
Every PDF file carries metadata — hidden information that isn't visible when you read the document but is trivially easy to inspect. This includes the author's name, the exact time the document was created and last modified, the title and subject fields, keywords, the name of the software used to create the source document, and the PDF library used to generate the file. According to the Wikipedia overview of Adobe's Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP), PDFs can also embed a full XML metadata packet containing even more structured data about the document's origin and history.
This tool reads your PDF's metadata directly in the browser, shows you exactly what's embedded, and lets you strip all of it without touching the visible content. No upload to any server, no account required, completely free.
See all metadata before stripping
Author, dates, software, XMP packet
File never leaves your device
Pages and content unchanged
Choose which fields to remove
Processes in seconds, no wait
Drop your PDF into the upload area or click to browse. The file is read locally — nothing is sent to any server.
See exactly what's embedded — author name, dates, software details, and XMP data. Red fields have data; green fields are already empty.
All fields are selected by default. Uncheck any fields you want to keep. Most users strip everything.
Click "Strip Metadata" and download your cleaned PDF. Content unchanged, metadata gone.
The metadata in a PDF file is stored in two places: the Document Information Dictionary (a structured key-value list in the PDF file header) and the XMP metadata stream (an embedded XML packet that can contain everything the dictionary holds, plus much more). Here's what each field typically reveals, as described in Adobe's PDF specification:
| Feature | PDF Online Editor | Adobe Acrobat | ExifTool (CLI) | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free to Use | ✅ Always | ❌ Paid | ✅ Free | ⚠️ Limited |
| No Signup | ✅ Never | ❌ Account | ✅ No account | ❌ Account |
| No Server Upload | ✅ 100% local | ✅ Local app | ✅ Local app | ❌ Cloud upload |
| Preview Before Strip | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ CLI only | ⚠️ Limited |
| XMP Metadata Removal | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Partial |
| Selective Field Strip | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ All or nothing |
| Browser-Based | ✅ Yes | ❌ Desktop app | ❌ CLI tool | ✅ Yes |
Free, instant, 100% private. Strip all metadata — no account, no upload, no trace.
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