On your device
How to remove metadata from a PDF on Windows
By DeckleUpdated
To remove metadata from a PDF on Windows, open Remove PDF metadata in your browser, drag the PDF onto the page, tick the items you want removed, such as Author and the dates, then choose Remove metadata. Deckle saves a clean copy with those items deleted, checks that they are gone, and leaves the original unchanged. Nothing needs to be installed.
How to remove PDF metadata on Windows with Deckle
- Open Remove PDF metadata in Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox.
- Drag the PDF from File Explorer onto the page, or choose Select a file. Deckle lists every metadata item it finds, with its value.
- Tick each item to remove, or tick Select all. Nothing is ticked at the start, and each item shows Keep or Remove beside it.
- If you tick the files under Embedded attachments, save any you need first. A warning reminds you.
- Choose Remove metadata. The button stays disabled until something is ticked.
- Download the copy, which has "(clean)" added to its name.
Before the result appears, Deckle checks that the removed items can't be found anywhere in the new file and that every page looks the same as before.
What Windows PDFs often reveal
PDFs made on Windows carry details from the app that made them and from your account.
| Item | What it often holds |
|---|---|
| Author | The name of whoever made the document, such as "J.Smith" |
| Title and Subject | Text from the original document or template, sometimes an old project name |
| Creator and Producer | The app and PDF engine, such as Microsoft Word |
| Created and Modified | When the document was made and last changed |
| XMP metadata | The same details again in another format, plus history from some apps |
| Document identifier | An ID that can link copies of the same document |
| Embedded attachments | Files stored inside the PDF |
Example: a quote exported from Word to send to a new client can show the Title of the old client's quote it was copied from. Tick Title and Author and both are gone from the clean copy.
Deckle deletes ticked items rather than blanking them, and it doesn't write its own name into the Producer field. Items you leave unticked stay exactly as they were.
What metadata removal does not touch
Metadata lives alongside the pages, not on them. This tool does not change:
- names, signatures and dates printed on the pages, or in headers and footers
- comments and form field values
- data inside images, such as camera details in a photo on a page
If the scan finds nothing supported, the button stays disabled and the screen says no supported metadata was found. A PDF that asks for a password needs an unlocked copy first; use Unlock PDF.
Check the clean copy
Open the clean copy in Remove PDF metadata again. The items you removed should no longer be listed. You can also open it in any PDF reader that shows document properties and check the fields there. For more on reading the results, see how to remove selected properties and check the result.
Stop the details at source
Word can leave the document properties out of the PDF it saves. Microsoft's page Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office Desktop apps lists a Document properties option under More Options > Options when you save as PDF; clear it and the properties are not included. Then open the PDF in Remove PDF metadata anyway to see what is left.
Tips
- Remove metadata before protecting. Password protect PDF keeps existing properties and sets the Producer to Deckle. Clean first, then lock.
- Keep attachments you need. Removed attachments can't be recovered from the clean copy.
- Check the pages too. A name in a footer is page content, not metadata.
- One file at a time. Clean each PDF in turn.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove the author from a PDF on Windows?
Open it in Remove PDF metadata, tick Author and choose Remove metadata.
Does removing metadata change the document?
No. Pages, text and page sizes are unchanged. Deckle compares the pages with the original after saving.
Can I keep some properties?
Yes. Only the items you tick are removed.
Is the PDF uploaded?
No. The file is read and rewritten in your browser on your PC.
Related tools
- Remove PDF metadata to delete properties you choose
- Password protect PDF to lock the clean copy
- Unlock PDF to open a protected file first