How to Edit PDF Metadata (and Why You Should Check It Before Sharing)

Updated April 14, 2026 · 5 min read

Every PDF carries a small invisible payload: title, author, subject, keywords, the software that produced it, and the creation date. Most people never look at it. That is fine — until you forward a draft to a client and they see "Author: Sarah's Personal Laptop" in the file properties, or you publish a report and the metadata still says "Project Codename Alpha" from your internal version.

This guide covers how to view PDF metadata, how to edit it, and when you should strip it entirely.

What's in PDF Metadata

Title — what shows in the browser tab when the PDF is open. Usually empty for documents from Word/Google Docs.
Author — the user's display name from whatever app exported it. Often a real person's full name + computer hostname.
Subject — rarely used; sometimes contains internal tags like "Q4-confidential".
Keywords — comma-separated tags. Used by some library systems for search indexing.
Producer / Creator — the software that wrote the PDF (e.g., "Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365"). Reveals what tools you use.
CreationDate / ModDate — timestamps. Can leak when you actually worked on something.

None of this affects the visible content. All of it is sometimes more revealing than the content itself.

How to View PDF Metadata Right Now

Adobe Reader / Acrobat: File → Properties → Description tab.

Chrome: Open the PDF, click the menu icon (right side of the viewer toolbar), Document Info.

Mac Preview: Tools → Show Inspector → "i" tab.

AllPDF.tools: Open the Metadata tool, drop the file, all fields appear pre-filled with current values.

Method 1: AllPDF.tools Metadata Editor (Free, In-Browser)

Open AllPDF.tools Metadata Editor.
Drop your PDF — the form auto-fills with current values.
Edit any field (title, author, subject, keywords).
Leave a field blank to clear that metadata entry.
Click Apply Metadata, download.

Producer and Creator get reset to "AllPDF.tools" — clearing your original software's name. ModificationDate is updated to the current time.

Privacy note: If you want to fully strip metadata, leave all four fields blank and apply. The output will have no title, author, subject, or keywords — only the AllPDF.tools producer name.

Method 2: Adobe Acrobat Pro

File → Properties → Description tab → edit any field → OK → File → Save.

Acrobat also has a "Sanitize Document" function (Tools → Redact → Sanitize) that strips ALL hidden info including metadata, embedded JavaScript, comments, and form fill data. Heavier but thorough.

Method 3: Command Line (exiftool)

For batch jobs:

exiftool -Author="" -Title="My Document" -Subject="" -Keywords="" file.pdf

Useful in scripts that process many files. Free; install via Homebrew on Mac or apt on Linux.

When Metadata Matters

Job applications — your draft resume might say "Author: John (Personal)" or "Created: 02:14 AM". Strip both.
Anonymized academic submissions — peer review processes require author-blind PDFs.
Whistleblower / journalism — metadata can identify the source. The 2017 NSA leak was traced via printer micro-dots and PDF properties.
Public document releases — government and corporate disclosures regularly leak internal tags via PDF metadata.
SEO / publishing — Title metadata is sometimes read by search engines and PDF indexers; setting it correctly helps discoverability.

Common Questions

Does editing metadata change the visible content?

No. Metadata is in a separate part of the file (the document info dictionary). The pages, fonts, images, and text on them are untouched.

Will the file size change?

Tiny — a few bytes more or less depending on what you added or removed. Imperceptible.

Can I edit metadata on a password-protected PDF?

You need to unlock it first. After editing, you can re-protect.

What about XMP metadata?

PDFs can carry two metadata blocks: the legacy "Info Dictionary" (covered above) and modern XMP (XML-based). Most viewers display the Info Dictionary; XMP is used by image-focused tools. The AllPDF.tools editor sets the Info Dictionary; for full XMP control use exiftool.

Can someone recover old metadata after I edit it?

Once saved, the old values are overwritten in the file structure. There is no "undo history" inside the PDF. Anyone with the old version of the file still has the old metadata; the new version has only the new metadata.

Edit your PDF metadata now
Edit PDF Metadata — Free, In-Browser