Metadata Stripper

Every PDF file carries hidden metadata that can reveal far more about you than you realize. Open any PDF's properties and you might find the full name of the author, the exact software used to create it (including version numbers), the precise creation date and time down to the second, the last modification date, the operating system it was created on, and sometimes even the original file path on the author's computer (revealing directory structures and username).

This metadata is embedded automatically by the software that created the PDF — Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Google Docs, LibreOffice, and virtually every other document creation tool. Most users never think about it because metadata is invisible during normal viewing. But it is trivially easy to extract using basic PDF tools, command-line utilities, or even the "Properties" dialog in any PDF viewer.

For most casual documents, metadata is harmless. But in many professional and personal contexts, it represents a serious privacy and security risk. A journalist sharing a document from a confidential source could inadvertently reveal the source's identity through the author metadata. A company sharing a proposal might reveal which employee drafted it and which internal software tools they use. A lawyer sharing redacted documents might leak creation dates that establish a timeline. And an anonymous whistleblower could be identified by the author name and file path embedded in their leaked documents.

Our Metadata Stripper solves this problem by scrubbing all document dictionary metadata from your PDF files. The tool reads your PDF, clears all metadata fields (Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, CreationDate, ModDate), and generates a clean PDF with no identifying information. The content of your document — text, images, formatting — is completely preserved. Only the invisible metadata is removed.