Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Remove hidden metadata from a PDF.

Before you send a CV, contract, report or anything anonymous, see what the PDF says about where it came from: the author’s name, the company, the software and the dates. Then strip it out, without changing a single page.

Not uploaded — nobody sees it Shows what’s hidden first Pages left untouched Strips photo GPS data too

Drop your PDF here, or click to browse One PDF at a time · see what’s hidden before you remove it Keep the document title (shown in browser tabs and some PDF readers) Also remove camera and GPS details from photos inside the PDF

Your file is never uploaded — it’s processed right here in this browser tab, on your device. It never reaches a server, so we never see it, copy it or keep it.

At a glance

Remove PDF metadata: quick facts

See and strip the hidden details stored inside a PDF.

Updated 8 October 2026

Price: Free. No sign-up, no watermark.
Removes: Title, author, subject, keywords, software, dates, XMP data and private app data.
Unchanged: Text, images, links, bookmarks, form fields and attachments.
Not removed: Names visible on the pages themselves.
Privacy: Your file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

How it works

How to remove metadata from a PDF

Altto opens the PDF on your device and lists every hidden detail it finds. When you remove them, it deletes the document information, the XMP blocks and leftover app data, cuts camera details out of embedded photos, and saves a clean copy.

Add your PDF

Drop in the file. Hidden details appear straight away, so you can see what it gives away.

Choose what to keep

Keep the title if you like, and choose whether to clean photos too.

Download the clean copy

You get a new file ending in -clean.pdf. Your original is untouched.

Tips

Where hidden details come from

Most metadata is added without you knowing. A few habits keep it out of documents in the first place.

The author name comes from your computerWord, Pages and most PDF printers fill in the author from the name on your user account or Office licence, which may be your full name or an old employer’s.
Templates carry other people’s detailsA CV or report built on someone else’s file can keep their name or company in the properties. Cleaning the PDF before you send it removes that.
Phone photos carry GPSA photo dropped into a document can bring its location with it. Leave “remove camera and GPS details” ticked, or clean images first with JFIF to JPG or Compress Image.
Check the resultOpen the clean PDF in your reader and look at File → Properties. The title, author and dates should be empty (or just the title, if you kept it).

Like every Altto tool, this runs on your device — nothing you add is uploaded. How Altto works

hidden details a typical PDF saved from Word carries: title, author, the app used, the PDF software, and the created and last-changed dates, usually with a second XMP copy of them too.

What’s inside

Metadata a PDF can carry

This is what the tool looks for, and why it might matter.

Common PDF metadata fields
Field	Example	Why remove it
Author	J Smith (from the computer’s user name)	Reveals who wrote it, even on anonymous or white-label documents
Made with / PDF software	Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365, macOS Quartz	Shows the tools and sometimes the version you use
Created / Last changed	3 Oct 2026, 23:14	Shows when you really worked on it
Title and subject	Draft v7: offer for Client B	Old working titles can give away more than the file name
XMP metadata	A hidden copy of the above, plus history	Many tools clear the visible fields but miss this copy
Photo EXIF	Camera model, date taken, GPS location	A photo can reveal exactly where it was taken

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What metadata is and what removing it does. To stop people editing the pages, see Flatten PDF.

What is PDF metadata?

It’s information stored inside the file about the file: the title, the author’s name (often whatever name is set up on the computer that made it), the company, the program and version used, and the date and time it was created and last changed. Most PDF readers hide it unless you open the document properties, but anyone can look.

What exactly gets removed?

The document information (title, author, subject, keywords, creator app, PDF software and dates), every XMP metadata block, which often repeats the same details plus editing history, and private app data some programs leave behind. With the photo option on, camera details such as the camera model, date taken and GPS location are cut from photos inside the PDF, without re-compressing them.

Will the PDF look any different?

No. The text, images, links, bookmarks and form fields are left exactly as they were. Only the hidden details are deleted, so the file usually gets slightly smaller.

Does it remove names written on the pages?

No. Metadata is the hidden information, not what’s visible. A name typed on a page, in a header or in a comment stays put. To blank out visible text you’d need a redaction tool, and simply drawing a box over text in many editors doesn’t remove the words underneath.

What about files attached inside the PDF?

Attachments are kept, because removing them could lose something you meant to send. They’re listed in the “Hidden details found” box so you know they’re there. Each attachment can carry its own metadata, so check them separately if that matters.

Is this enough before sharing a sensitive document?

It removes the hidden details most people forget about, which is the usual cause of an accidental leak, such as an author name or an earlier client’s company. For legal or official redaction, follow your organisation’s process as well. And because this runs in your browser, the document itself is never uploaded anywhere while you clean it.

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