What PDF metadata reveals
Every PDF can hold a small set of document-information fields. They are filled in automatically by the application that created the file, and most people never look at them.
A redacted court exhibit whose Author field still names the client, or an anonymised CV whose Title is the candidate's original file name, undoes the redaction as surely as a missed line of text.
Hidden content beyond the metadata fields
Clearing the five or six fields in a properties dialog is not the whole job. A PDF can also contain:
XMP metadata
A second, XML-based metadata block. It can repeat the fields above — so clearing one copy leaves the other — and some applications record editing history in it.
Earlier revisions
PDFs can be saved incrementally: the changes are appended and the old version stays inside the file. Text “deleted” in a quick edit may still be recoverable.
Attachments
Files embedded in the PDF — a spreadsheet behind a chart, an original e-mail.
Comments and form data
Reviewer names on annotations, and values typed into form fields.
Hidden layers and scripts
Optional content that is switched off in the viewer, and JavaScript actions.
Why editing metadata in place is not always enough
Because of incremental saving, a tool that changes the Author field may simply append the new value and leave the old one in the file. Some metadata utilities do exactly that with PDFs, and say so in their documentation: the edit can be undone, which also means the old author name is still inside the file for anyone who looks.
The reliable approach is to produce a new file that contains only what you chose to keep — not to patch the old one.
How RedactOffline handles metadata on export
RedactOffline never modifies your original. Every export builds a new PDF from scratch in your browser: each page is rendered to an image with the redactions painted in, and the new document is assembled from those images. Here is exactly what that means for metadata.
Never copied from the original
- XMP metadata
- Attachments and embedded files
- JavaScript, links and bookmarks
- Earlier revisions from incremental saves
- Original creation and modification dates
- Producer (always left empty)
Kept unless you clear them
- Title
- Author
- Subject
- Creator
- Keywords
Pre-filled from your file in the export dialog so you can see them. Clear them there.
What is drawn on the page becomes part of the page image, so visible content such as a stamp or a signature is kept like any other content. Redact it if it should go.
Step by step
Open the PDF in the editor
The file is read into your browser tab from your disk. It is not uploaded.
Redact what needs redacting — or nothing
You can export without a single redaction if all you want is a clean copy.
Open Export and expand “Document metadata”
The five fields — Title, Author, Subject, Creator, Keywords — are pre-filled with the values found in your file. A “has data” badge tells you something is there.
Clear or rewrite the fields
Edit each field, or click “Clear all metadata”. An empty field is left out of the exported file.
Export and check the properties
Open the downloaded file's document properties and confirm the fields are empty.
To check a file's metadata in your usual viewer, look for “Document Properties” (most PDF readers, including Firefox and Chrome) or, on a Mac, Tools > Show Inspector in Preview.
The trade-off of rebuilding the file
Building a fresh PDF is what guarantees that old data cannot survive. It also has costs you should know before you choose it:
- Pages become images. Text stays selectable through an invisible layer, but only for characters in the standard Latin font; text in other scripts is not selectable in the output.
- Links, bookmarks and fillable form fields are not recreated. If your document is a filled-in form, check the exported file to make sure the values you need are still shown.
- The file is often larger than the original, and exporting takes longer than a simple save.
For a document you are about to share outside your organisation, those are usually the right trade-offs. For a working file you will keep editing, they are not.
Frequently asked questions
Does RedactOffline remove metadata automatically?
Partly. The exported PDF is built from scratch, so XMP metadata, attachments, scripts, bookmarks, links and earlier revisions of the original are never copied. The five document-information fields — Title, Author, Subject, Creator, Keywords — are pre-filled with the original values so you can see them, and are kept unless you clear them in the export dialog.
What happens to the creation and modification dates?
The original dates are not carried over. The exported file records the moment of export as its creation and modification date.
Is the metadata editor free?
Yes. It is part of the export dialog on the free plan, for documents up to 5 pages, and on Premium.
Can I remove metadata without changing anything else in the PDF?
Not with RedactOffline: every export redraws the pages. If you need to keep the file's structure — links, form fields, a selectable text layer in any script — use a desktop tool that rewrites the whole file, and check that it does not simply append the change.
Does removing metadata also remove the text of the document?
No. Metadata is stored separately from the page content. To remove names, account numbers or any visible text you still need to redact it.
Export a clean copy of your PDF
Metadata editor included in the free plan · Up to 5 pages · Processed in your browser, never uploaded
Open the editor