What metadata does a PDF store about me?

The document information dictionary holds Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer, plus creation and modification timestamps. Author and Creator are commonly auto-filled with your account name and the software you exported from.

Why should I remove metadata before sharing a PDF?

Because it travels with the file and is visible to anyone in their reader's properties panel. A document intended to be anonymous, or one going to a client, often carries an internal author name and the name of the template software it came from.

What is the difference between the Creator and Producer fields?

Creator names the application the document was authored in, such as a word processor. Producer names whatever library or tool actually wrote the PDF bytes. A file exported from Word through a print driver typically shows both, and they are different.

Does editing PDF metadata change the pages themselves?

No. The document information dictionary is a separate structure from the page content, so editing it leaves every page exactly as it was — the file is simply rewritten with new field values.

Is my PDF uploaded to edit its metadata?

No. The file is parsed and rewritten entirely in your browser, so a confidential document never leaves your device.

PDF Metadata Editor

View, edit or strip the title, author, subject, keywords and producer stored inside a PDF — in your browser.

The PDF Metadata Editor runs entirely in your browser. Your document is parsed and rewritten on your device and is never uploaded.

Open the EXIF Viewer & Remover

About PDF Metadata Editor

PDF Metadata Editor opens the document information dictionary that every PDF carries and lets you change it. Six fields live there — Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer — plus creation and modification dates. Readers show the Title instead of the filename, search indexes read the Keywords, and the Author and Creator fields are routinely auto-filled by whatever software exported the file, which is how a document quietly names the person who made it and the software they used. Drop a PDF in and the current values appear; change what you want or strip everything, and the file is rewritten on your device with the modification date updated.

Features

Reads all six document information fields plus both dates
Edit any field, or strip every one of them in a single click
Highlights which fields you have changed before saving
Warns when a file names a person or the software that produced it
Revert to the file's original values at any point
Keywords split correctly on commas when written back
Preserves the creation date and updates the modification date
The PDF is read and rewritten on your device

How to use the PDF Metadata Editor

Drop a PDF onto the box or click to choose one
Review the fields that are already filled in
Edit the values, or press Strip all to clear every field
Press Save PDF to download the edited file

Example

Input

report.pdf with Author "Jordan Lee" and Producer "Acrobat"

Output

report-metadata.pdf with both fields cleared

Stripping the identifying fields before sharing a document externally.

Common errors & troubleshooting

The PDF will not open in the editor. — Encrypted or password-protected PDFs cannot be read until the protection is removed. Use the PDF decrypt tool first, then edit the metadata.
The Producer field comes back filled in after saving. — Some viewers display their own producer string, and any tool that rewrites a PDF may set one. Reopen the saved file here to see what was actually stored.
Editing metadata did not remove text from the document body. — The document information dictionary is separate from page content. To remove visible content, redact the pages themselves rather than editing the metadata.
The creation date did not change. — That is deliberate — the creation date is preserved because it describes when the document was authored. Only the modification date is updated when you save.

Frequently asked questions

What metadata does a PDF store about me?: The document information dictionary holds Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer, plus creation and modification timestamps. Author and Creator are commonly auto-filled with your account name and the software you exported from.
Why should I remove metadata before sharing a PDF?: Because it travels with the file and is visible to anyone in their reader's properties panel. A document intended to be anonymous, or one going to a client, often carries an internal author name and the name of the template software it came from.
What is the difference between the Creator and Producer fields?: Creator names the application the document was authored in, such as a word processor. Producer names whatever library or tool actually wrote the PDF bytes. A file exported from Word through a print driver typically shows both, and they are different.
Does editing PDF metadata change the pages themselves?: No. The document information dictionary is a separate structure from the page content, so editing it leaves every page exactly as it was — the file is simply rewritten with new field values.
Is my PDF uploaded to edit its metadata?: No. The file is parsed and rewritten entirely in your browser, so a confidential document never leaves your device.

Related tools

EXIF Viewer & Remover — View and strip EXIF metadata (including GPS) from photos — nothing is uploaded.
Compare PDFs — Diff the extracted text of two PDFs line-by-line.
Encrypt PDF — Password-protect a PDF with AES-256 or RC4 encryption.
PDF to Text — Extract selectable text from a PDF as plain text or Markdown.
Organize PDF — Reorder, rotate and delete pages from thumbnails, then export.
Blur & Redact Image — Permanently blur, pixelate or black out parts of a screenshot before sharing it.