Remove PDF metadata

See everything a PDF says about where it came from (author, software, dates, the hidden XMP packet and the document ID) and remove all of it in one click. The pages are not touched. Free, and your file never leaves your browser.

What PDF metadata gives away

• Author is often your computer login or full name, filled in by Word or your PDF printer without asking.
• Creator and Producer name the software and version (for example "Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365" or "pdfTeX-1.40.25"), and custom keys like PTEX.Fullbanner add the whole toolchain.
• Dates show when the document was really made, even if you re-saved it later.
• The XMP packet is a second, hidden copy of the metadata in XML. Removing the Author in some viewers leaves it there, and Adobe tools can store an edit history in it.
• The document ID in the file trailer stays the same across versions, so it can link a "clean" copy back to the original.

This tool removes all five. Other tools often clear only the visible fields and leave the XMP packet in the file. Here, anything that is no longer used after the cleanup is dropped from the file too.

How it works

The PDF is opened with pdf-lib in this page, without changing anything on load (many tools quietly stamp their own Producer and dates when they open a file). Remove all metadata clears every Info field and custom key, deletes the XMP packet (document, page and XFA form copies), PieceInfo and the trailer ID, then drops every object that nothing points to anymore, so no orphaned copy stays in the file. Save with these fields writes the six fields you typed, keeps the dates and custom keys, and removes the XMP packet so viewers show your new values. Pages, text, links, bookmarks and form fields are kept as they are. After saving, the tool reopens the new file and shows you what is left.

Making the PDFs yourself?

PDFs rendered with the Shotmint API carry very little metadata: the Title comes from your HTML <title>, Creator is "Chromium", Producer is "Skia/PDF", plus the two dates. There is no author, no XMP and no user name. So set the title in your template and that's it:

curl -X POST "https://shotmint.creasework.com/v1/pdf" -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"html":"<title>Invoice 42</title><h1>Invoice 42</h1>","format":"A4"}' -o invoice.pdf

Each render is 1 credit. €5 buys 2,000 with no subscription, and credits never expire. Try it without a key on HTML to PDF.

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FAQ

Does removing metadata change how the PDF looks? No. Only the document information is removed; every page stays exactly the same.

Is the file uploaded? No. Everything runs in JavaScript on this page, so your documents stay on your device.

Why does a viewer still show a title after I removed everything? When a PDF has no Title, viewers show the file name instead. Rename the file if the name itself gives something away.

Does it remove metadata from images inside the PDF? No. Photos embedded in a PDF are usually stored without their EXIF block, but this tool does not rewrite them. For image files, use remove EXIF data.

Why does it say password-protected? Encrypted PDFs can't be changed without the password. Save a copy without the password in your PDF viewer, then try again.

Other pages: PDF metadata editor, PDF metadata viewer, redact PDF, compress PDF, merge PDF, remove EXIF data.

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