Metadata in a PDF typically contains tons of information about the PDF file, it can describe properties such as document's title, subject, keywords, author, creation date, the application it was created with and other details that were used to create the file. But sometimes, you might not want such contextual information available to the recipients for privacy or security concerns.
However, metadata is usually invisible to PDF viewers, hence, many people don't even know how to access it, let alone edit or delete it. If you are one of them, then you've come to the right place, where you will find 4 ways to remove metadata from PDF without difficulties.
Cisdem PDFMaster
Free Download macOS 11 or later 
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Before going ahead with the ways to remove PDF metadata, let's see what is PDF metadata and why people want to remove metadata from PDF in the beginning.
Metadata means "data about data", while PDF metadata refers to the data providing basic information stored in a PDF file. It consists of a series of attributes attached to each PDF file, and the most common PDF metadata includes who and when created the document, what application was used to create it, the file size and number of pages, the subject and keywords of the document, etc.
In simple words, PDF metadata identifies what the PDF file is all about. And a PDF with complete metadata makes it much easier to search on the internet and local hard drives, also sort and organize the PDF files.
While metadata is essential from an accessibility perspective, it can also pose privacy risks in some scenarios. The metadata in PDF may contain some confidential information regarding the author, or sensitive items that you may not hope to share with others. If the data is not removed before sending a document, then it will be exposed to recipients or third parties inadvertently, which may seriously damage individuals or organizations.
Whatever the reason, it is important to know how to remove metadata from a PDF file with appropriate tools. Fortunately, most of PDF editors are capable of viewing, editing and removing the PDF metadata and properties. Here we would like to share 2 powerful PDF editors with you to carry out this task.
Among numerous PDF editors, we picked Cisdem PDFMaster as the best PDF metadata remover due to its well-organized interface, full-fledged features and cost-effective price. Available for Mac and Windows, Cisdem PDFMaster is a fabulous program that makes managing the PDF metadata hassle-free. You can utilize it to view the properties of PDF and see if there are any restrictions applied to the document. Additionally, it only takes a few steps to edit or delete the metadata when necessary.
Besides removing metadata, this software also allows users to protect content in PDF with 3 methods, they are respectively setting password, marking for redaction and adding digital signature.
In addition, Cisdem PDFMaster does an excellent job in editing PDF, aiding users to edit the existing texts, images, links and other elements in PDF freely. It also lets users convert, create, compress, protect and unlock PDF, and each feature supports processing multiple PDF files at the same time within a few seconds.
Free Download macOS 11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
It's unsurprising that Adobe Acrobat has the ability to remove metadata from PDF, since Adobe is the company that developed PDF. It helps users to remove the author, title, subject, keywords and other additional metadata from a PDF with several clicks. Also, you are able to remove the hidden information from PDF with its protect feature.
As you expected, there are several ways enabling you to remove metadata from PDF for free. They are usually online tools, working on a web browser, hence, you don't need a powerful system to launch them.
PDFYeah is one of the best online tools for removing PDF metadata, 100% free to use. With its aid, you are able to remove all metadata and properties from a PDF document, including author, copyright, creator and so on. The PDF files are uploaded via HTTPS secure connection, and will be deleted after a few hours automatically.
Another simple and fast solution for completing the task of removing PDF metadata is PDFCandy. It is easy to use and requires no registration. With this tool, you can not only edit such metadata values as author, title, subject, keywords, created on, modified on, but also remove the unwanted data free of charge.
After you've seen 4 tools we've demonstrated, working with metadata is no longer a complicated task. Depending on your preferences, you can choose any of the above-mentioned PDF metadata removers. But if possible, try a professional PDF editor offline, since it will protect user's privacy better and provide more editing features than online method.
Bianca is a senior tech editor and strategist at Cisdem with Over 10 years of experience on PDF related solutions which covers all document editing, annotating, converting and managing etc.
