PDF Metadata Cleaner

Clean PDF metadata: inspect standard fields before sharing

A PDF can contain an author name, a document title or details of its creation software alongside its visible pages. These entries often come from a template rather than the document you intend to share. PDF Metadata Cleaner displays the standard fields and creates a new PDF with empty entries. Select one PDF through the file picker, then start cleaning with the button. Your original file stays unchanged in its existing location.

Read the metadata table

The table lists Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer. It also shows the creation date, modification date and page count. The technical date fields are CreationDate and ModDate. Available dates appear in UTC rather than your local time zone. An empty marker means a field is absent or contains an empty value. Page count is a check on the copied document, not a field the cleaner removes.

An author entry does not prove who wrote the text. An old creation date may simply belong to a reused template. Treat these fields as information to review, not proof of origin. The Metadata Inspector helps you inspect other supported file formats separately.

How the cleaned PDF is created

After PDF import, the tool reads the standard fields and creates a new document. It copies every page in its original order, leaves the six text fields empty and omits the two date fields. It then saves the PDF data and opens those saved bytes again. Only when the fields are empty and the page count matches does the cleaned.pdf download appear. The second table therefore reports values read from the generated file, rather than a promise about a change that has not happened yet.

Content and document features need separate checks

This cleaner does not remove names from visible text, addresses from images or scanned signatures. It performs no redaction. It does not specifically inspect or strip additional XMP metadata or embedded files. An empty standard metadata table is not proof that a document contains no personal information. For image files, use the Image Metadata Cleaner as a separate step before assembling a PDF.

The copy retains page contents and layout, but not necessarily every document feature. Forms, annotations, links, bookmarks and digital signatures may change or be lost. Open the downloaded copy and check appearance and functionality before sending it. Use PDF Tools when you need to arrange pages rather than clear these fields.

Local processing and protected documents

Cleaning runs in your browser memory. The tool code sends no PDF contents to a server and keeps no document archive. You choose whether to save the download. Protected PDFs are rejected, including encrypted files that open without asking for a password. There is no password entry screen. Damaged or unsupported files produce an error instead of a download. Large files require more browser memory and can take longer to process.

Frequently asked questions