How to remove metadata and hidden data from a PDF before sharing

How to remove a PDF's metadata: the short answer

To remove metadata from a PDF, upload the file and click "Clean and download". The tool erases the document properties (author, program, dates, internal title, subject, keywords and a second block of hidden data) and downloads the clean copy, showing a list of what it found and removed. The visible content doesn't change. Everything happens in your browser.

What PDF metadata is (and why to remove it)

Metadata is data about the file, stored inside it. When you save a PDF, details like the author's name, the program used, the document's internal title, and the dates it was created and changed are recorded automatically. None of this appears when you open the file to read it, but it's there, and anyone who receives the PDF can look it up. Removing this metadata leaves the document with just the content you meant to share, and nothing else.

What stays hidden inside a PDF

• The name of whoever created the file, often your real name or your computer login.
• The program and version used to generate the PDF.
• The internal title, which may be an old draft name ("proposal_v3_final").
• The creation and last-edited dates.
• In some cases, keywords and a second block of properties written by the program, which usually repeats all of the above and sometimes carries even more.

What the tool removes (and what it doesn't)

• Removes: "Author", "Program that created the file", "Creation and edit dates", "Internal title", "Subject", "Keywords" and "Other hidden data" (the second block of properties).
• Doesn't remove: visible comments and annotations, attachments, bookmarks, form fields, or the text and images on the pages. If the secret is in the content (an ID number, a name, a photo), use the redact tool, which truly erases the data.
• At the end, it shows "Done! We removed from the file:" with the list of what was there, or "The file was already clean — no hidden data found."
• Always downloads a copy, even when the file was already clean.
• Takes several PDFs at once; each one downloads separately.
• A PDF with a password or with permissions is not accepted: you see "Could not clean the document." Remove the password first, then clean.

How to tell whether your PDF carries this data

Almost every PDF does. To check without leaving the site, use the PDF details tool: it shows "Title", "Author", "Subject", "Created in app", "Produced by", "Created on" and "Modified on". If any of those fields carries your name, someone else's, or an old draft name, clean it before sharing. And even when those fields look empty, the second block of properties may still exist: that's what the cleanup lists as "Other hidden data". So the safest move is to run the file through the cleanup anyway: if there was nothing, it tells you. The PDF inspector, along with the ones for photos, Office, audio, video and ZIP, is covered in how to view a file's metadata.

Step by step to remove the metadata

1. Open the clean hidden data tool and upload the file you're about to share (or several).
2. Click "Clean and download".
3. Read the "Done! We removed from the file:" list to see what was stored, or the notice that it was already clean.
4. Keep the downloaded copy, named after the original plus "-limpo", and send that version.

The downloaded copy looks identical to the original for anyone reading it, but without the identifying trail behind it. It opens normally in any PDF reader, on a computer or a phone. If you want to change the title or author instead of erasing everything, see how to edit PDF metadata.

Why this matters for your privacy

A résumé, a proposal or a contract sent by email carries more than the visible text. From the author's name and the program, someone can work out who you are, which company you work for, and even guess where you are. When a document involves other people's data, clearing that trail also helps you meet privacy rules, which ask for care with any information that can identify someone, including the kind that stays hidden. The habit is simple: clean the file before you send it out. For photos, Office documents and videos, see how to remove metadata before sharing.

It all happens in your browser: the PDF is handled on your own device and is never sent to any server.