How to Remove Metadata from PDF

Audrey Goodwin

2021-11-29 13:55:53 • Filed to: How-To • Proven solutions

Metadata in a PDF file includes information such as the title, author name, the date created, modification date, subject date, an application which was used to create this PDF file, size of PDF file, number of pages in the PDF file, and all the tags associated with the file. Essentially, Metadata contains all the properties of the file. However, many people do not know how to access or remove Metadata from their files. This step-by-step guide will help you to remove metadata from PDF files. Aside from Adobe Acrobat Pro, PDFelement is another PDF metadata editor that supports the removal of metadata from PDF documents.

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Remove Metadata from PDF with PDFelement

PDFelement is not only more cost-effective than Adobe Acrobat Pro, but it is also easier to use. Users will not have to navigate through complicated settings. They can remove metadata using the backspace button on their keyboard. Below, we have the step-by-step guide on how you can remove metadata from your PDF file using PDFelement.

Step 1. Open to View PDF Metadata

Open a PDF document in PDFelement by clicking the "Open files" button on the home window.

Step 2. Remove Metadata from PDF File

Go to the "File" tab and choose the "Properties" > "Description" option. You can then view the metadata of the PDF document. You can edit and delete metadata as you want. Select the information that you want to delete. Using the "Backspace" or "Delete" key on the keyboard, you can easily remove the metadata information. PDFelement also allows you to edit PDF metadata on Mac as well. It also works as a PDF metadata viewer.

Video on Remove Metadata from PDF

Tips: How Metadata is Stored in PDF Files

Info Dictionary and Metadata Streams are the common mechanisms available within PDF files to add metadata. Since PDF version 1.0, the Info Dictionary (or info dict) has been included, which includes the following general metadata information about a PDF file:

Author – who created the document
Subject – what is the document about
Keywords – keywords can be comma-separated
Title – the title of the document

Metadata Streams is a more elaborate mechanism that has been embedded in PDF documents. XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is used to structure a metadata stream. XMP is a technology developed by Adobe as an ISO-standard (ISO 16684-1) in order to embed metadata into files, not only for PDF but also for JPG and SVG.

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Remove Metadata from PDF in Adobe^® Acrobat^®

This feature is only present in the Pro version, so you will need to purchase that version before following the below steps. After purchasing the software, download and install it on your computer. Run it as an Administrator and open the PDF file from which you want to remove the metadata.

Step 1. Remove the Metadata

Click on the "Remove Hidden Information" option which will be present under the Hidden Information section. It will open another pane on the left side of the screen. In this new pane, make sure to check the data that you want to remove. In this case, select the "Remove Metadata". Then click the "Remove" button which is just above this option. Wait for a few seconds as Adobe Acrobat Pro removes all the metadata from your PDF file.

Step 2. Save the File

After removing the metadata, don’t forget to save your PDF file. Use the "Ctrl + S" keyboard shortcut, or click on the "File" tab and press "Save" to save this PDF file.