The hidden info inside every PDF
Every PDF can carry a little bundle of behind-the-scenes info called metadata. You don't see it on the page, but it's there, and it shows up in places you might not expect:
- Title: shown in the browser tab and in a lot of PDF readers instead of the file name. That's why some PDFs open with a title like "Microsoft Word - FINAL_v7_actualfinal.docx."
- Author: often filled in automatically with the name on the computer that made it. Sometimes that's your full name. Sometimes it's "Owner" or the name of whoever set up the laptop in 2014.
- Subject and Keywords: a description and tags. Rarely filled in, sometimes used by document systems.
- Creator: the app the document was made in, like Word or InDesign.
- Producer: the software that wrote the PDF file itself.
- Creation and modification dates.
You can check all of it here and change it.
Why bother editing it?
Look professional
Sending a proposal, a resume or an ebook? A clean title like "Jane Smith - Resume" looks a lot better in the reader's tab than "Document1." Same goes for PDFs you post on your website.
Privacy
The author field can reveal your real name on something you meant to share anonymously, or a coworker's name on a document you've since taken over. Hit Wipe all to clear every field before you share.
Search engines
If you publish PDFs online, Google may use the PDF's title as the search result title. A real, descriptive title helps people find it and click on it.
What "Wipe all" does and doesn't do
Wipe all clears the standard document info fields: title, author, subject, keywords, creator and producer, and resets the dates. That covers what most people mean by PDF metadata.
Be aware that personal info can hide in other places too: the visible page content (obviously), comments and annotations, form fields, attachments, or the file name itself. If a document is really sensitive, look it over, and consider flattening forms or deleting pages you don't need to share.
How to check a PDF's metadata yourself
- Here: just drop the file in. We show every field before you change anything.
- Mac: open it in Preview and choose Tools, then Show Inspector.
- Windows: right-click the file in File Explorer, choose Properties, then the Details tab.
- Acrobat Reader: File, then Properties.
It's worth a look before you post a PDF publicly. You might be surprised whose name is on it.
Tips
- Set metadata as the last step. Some tools (including merging and compressing) create a fresh file and reset the info.
- Keep titles short and readable. Think of it as the name people see in a browser tab.
- Rename the file too. The file name and the title are separate things.
What about the file name?
The file name is set by whatever saves the file, not stored inside the PDF, so it's separate from the title. When you download from here, you get a sensible name based on your original. Rename it in Finder, File Explorer or the Files app if you want something different.
Nothing uploaded
Metadata is read and rewritten in your browser. Your PDF stays on your device the whole time.
Want the actual words out of the document instead? Try PDF to Text.