How to remove metadata from a PDF

The short answer

Export a fresh copy of the PDF with a tool that doesn't carry the old document information across. Opening a file in Remove personal information from PDF and exporting it removes the metadata, along with comments, form fields and anything you cover on the page. Then confirm it with the PDF Redaction Checker.

What PDF metadata can reveal

Most PDFs carry a small block of document information that isn't shown on the page. Depending on how the file was made, it can include:

• Author: often the name or username of the person whose computer created the file.
• Title, subject and keywords: sometimes left over from an earlier draft or another client's document.
• Creation and modification dates: when the file was made and last changed.
• Creator and producer: the software, and sometimes its version, used to make the PDF.

None of this is usually dangerous on its own, but it can contradict what you're sharing. A file sent as "anonymous" that names its author, or a template that still carries a previous customer's title, is an easy leak to miss.

Other hidden places details can sit

• Comments and annotations, including resolved review notes.
• Form fields, which can hold typed values even when the page looks blank.
• Attachments embedded in the PDF.
• Text under boxes that were drawn on top rather than redacted.
• Photos inside the PDF, which can carry their own camera details.

Because Blur Document rebuilds every page from pixels on export, none of these layers come through into the new file.

Strip metadata and redact in one pass

1. Open Remove personal information from PDF and drop in the file.
2. Accept any highlighted details on the page you also want hidden, or reject them all if you only need clean metadata.
3. Export. The new PDF has no author, title or software information from the original.
4. Drop the exported file into the PDF Redaction Checker to confirm no metadata, comments, form fields or attachments are left.

The exported PDF is built from page images, so its text is no longer selectable or searchable. If you need searchable text, keep that in mind before sending.