Remove PDF metadata
Clear the hidden document properties a PDF carries about who made it and when.
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Select a PDF file
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Accepted formats: PDF
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Quick facts
- What it does
- Strips the document's title, author, subject, keywords, producer and creation dates.
- Input
- Output
- Processing
- In your browser
- Files uploaded?
- No
- Account required?
- No
- Best for
- Sharing a file without revealing who wrote it, on what software, or when.
- Main limitation
- It removes document-level metadata. It does not remove information written into the visible page content, or metadata embedded inside individual images.
How to use this tool
- Upload your PDF.
- See exactly what the file currently says about itself.
- Choose which fields to clear, or clear everything.
- Download the cleaned PDF.
Why use iBuildPDF
Every PDF quietly records the name on the computer that made it, the software used, and when it was created and last changed. A CV, a tender, an anonymous submission — all of them routinely carry a name the sender never meant to include.
How it works
The document information dictionary and the XMP metadata stream are both cleared, then the document is rewritten. Clearing only the first is the usual half-fix, because most readers show one and most forensic tools read the other.
Frequently asked questions
Does this make the document anonymous?
It removes the document properties, which is the usual leak. It cannot remove your name from the visible text, from a signature on the page, or from an image of a letterhead. Anonymity is about the content as much as the metadata.
Will the file still open normally?
Yes. Metadata is descriptive, not structural — a PDF with none is perfectly valid and every viewer opens it.
What metadata does a PDF actually contain?
More than most people expect. Alongside the visible content, a PDF typically records a title, an author name, the application that created it, the application that last edited it, and creation and modification timestamps — all readable by anyone from the file properties dialog. Many files also carry an XMP metadata block with additional fields added by whatever software produced them.
Why would I remove it before sharing a file?
Because it leaks things the document itself does not say. The author field can carry a real name on a document meant to be anonymous, the producer field can identify internal software, and timestamps can reveal when something was actually written. It is a standard step before publishing a document publicly, submitting anything anonymised, or sending a file outside your organisation.
Does removing metadata change how the PDF looks?
No. Metadata is information about the file, not part of what is drawn on the page, so the document opens, displays and prints identically afterwards. Only the properties panel changes. Nothing is re-rendered, so there is no quality cost — this is a safe operation to run on anything before you send it.
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