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How to remove metadata from a PDF

Updated 20 October 2026

Not sure what's hiding in your document? Check it free. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.

A PDF looks final, but it still carries details about where it came from: the author's name, the title and subject, the program that made it, when it was created and changed, and sometimes a log of edits or an earlier version of the whole document.

See what a PDF holds

  1. Adobe Acrobat or Reader: File › Properties › Description shows the title, author, subject, keywords, creating program and dates.
  2. Preview on a Mac: Tools › Show Inspector, then the information tab.
  3. Or use the free Clean Retype check, which also looks for comments, attached files, hidden layers, earlier saved versions and text under black boxes.

Remove it with Acrobat Pro

  1. Open Redact and choose Remove Hidden Information (or Sanitize Document to remove everything in one go).
  2. Review the list: metadata, comments, attached files, hidden text, form fields and more. Remove what you don't need.
  3. Save as a new file. Saving as new, rather than over the original, also drops earlier versions kept inside the file.

Make a cleaner PDF from Word

  1. Clean up the Word document first: accept or reject tracked changes and delete comments. Our guide to removing metadata from Word walks through it.
  2. Choose File › Save As and pick PDF.
  3. On Windows, click Options and untick Document properties so the author and title aren't copied into the PDF.

Or check it in seconds

Drop the file into the free Clean Retype check and it lists what's hiding inside: author names, comments, hidden sheets and rows, speaker notes, earlier versions, and text still sitting under black boxes.

Check a file free No sign-up

It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer. Works with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.

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