What is PDF metadata, and what does your PDF say about you?

PDF metadata is information stored inside the file about the document rather than on its pages: usually a title, an author, a subject and keywords, the app that created it, the software that produced the PDF, and when it was created and last changed. You don't see it when you read the pages, but anyone can see it in the file's properties. Our Edit PDF Metadata tool shows you what's there and lets you change or remove it.

Most of the time it's harmless. Sometimes it isn't: a CV whose author is your current employer's name, a contract template still credited to a lawyer at another firm, or a "final" report whose dates show it was made the night before. A quick check before you share takes less than a minute.

What's typically in there

XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) started at Adobe and is now an ISO standard, ISO 16684-1. It's worth knowing about because it often holds a second copy of the author and title. If you only clear the basic fields, the same details can still be sitting in the XMP.

Where it comes from

You rarely type metadata yourself. It's filled in by the software along the way.

• Word and other Office apps keep document properties such as author, title and the last person to save the file. Microsoft's own help pages list these among the "hidden data and personal information" a document can contain. When you save a Word file as PDF, Word has a Document properties option that decides whether those properties go into the PDF.
• Scanners and scanning apps often add their own name as the creator, and sometimes a title like "Scanned document".
• Online converters and PDF tools may stamp themselves as the producer.
• Templates carry metadata from whoever made them. A rent agreement template downloaded years ago can still carry its first author's name.

How to see a PDF's metadata

• In Adobe Acrobat Reader: File > Properties. The Description tab shows title, author, subject, keywords, dates, the creating app and the producer.
• In a browser: the tab shows the PDF's Title if one is set, otherwise the file name. That's often the first place people notice an odd title.
• With our tool: add the PDF to Edit PDF Metadata. It lists the title, author, subject, keywords, app, producer, dates, XMP and custom properties together.

How to change or remove it

1. Open Edit PDF Metadata and add your PDF. One file, up to 100 MB.
2. Edit any field you want to change. Empty a field to remove it.
3. To clear everything, press Remove all metadata. That clears all the fields, dates, XMP metadata and custom properties.
4. If you're only editing a field or two, keep Remove XMP metadata ticked. It's ticked for you when you edit a field, because XMP holds the second copy of the details.
5. Download metadata-updated.pdf.

The pages, text and images aren't touched. Only the document properties change.

A good habit for anything you send to an employer, client or official body: set a clear title, such as "Priya Sharma - CV", and clear the author if it isn't you. It looks tidier when they open the file in a browser, and it doesn't carry anything you didn't mean to share.

What metadata isn't

Metadata is only the document's properties. Other hidden things in a PDF are separate, and removing metadata does nothing about them.

• Text under a black box. If someone covered a number with a drawn rectangle, the text may still be in the page. Use Redact PDF, which rebuilds the marked pages as images. It also replaces the file's metadata with a generic title.
• Comments and form answers. These are part of the page's layers, not metadata. Flatten PDF turns them into page content, and our explainer on what flattening a PDF means covers the details.
• Everything visible. A name in the footer or a phone number in the letterhead is page content. Metadata tools don't touch it.

The standard itself is moving in this direction too. The US Library of Congress notes that in PDF 2.0, the entries in the older document information dictionary, apart from the creation and modification dates, are deprecated, which leaves XMP as the main home for these details. In practice most PDFs you'll meet still carry both.

When it's worth checking

You don't need to scrub every file. Check the metadata when:

• the document was made from a template someone else created,
• you're sending a CV or cover letter, especially from a work computer,
• you're sharing a document outside your organisation,
• you're sending anything anonymously or confidentially, or
• the title shown in the browser tab looks wrong.

If you're preparing documents to share, our guide on sending documents safely puts this alongside the other steps, like removing pages and adding a password.

Questions people ask

Can metadata reveal my name?

Yes, often. The Author field is usually filled from the name set in the app or computer that made the document.

Does removing metadata change how my PDF looks?

No. Only the document properties change. The pages stay exactly as they were.

Does a scanned PDF have metadata?

Usually some: the scanning app or device name and the dates. It rarely includes an author.

Is removing metadata the same as redacting?

No. Metadata is separate from the pages. To hide text on the page, use redaction.

Will the metadata come back if I edit the file again?

It can. Many apps fill in their own creator, producer and dates when they save. Make metadata cleanup your last step before sharing.

Sources

• Library of Congress: PDF 2.0 format description
• ISO: ISO 16684-1:2019, Extensible metadata platform (XMP)
• Microsoft Support: Remove hidden data and personal information by inspecting documents
• Microsoft Support: Save or convert to PDF