What Information Is Hidden Inside Your PDF — And How to Remove It Before You Send
Every PDF you create quietly stores a fingerprint of who made it, when, on what software, and on which operating system. Most people never check. Recipients — and forensic tools — can.
Quick answer
A PDF typically carries seven hidden metadata fields: Author, Creator, Producer, Creation date, Modification date, Keywords / Subject, and an XMP metadata stream. Together they can reveal your name, your company, your exact software version, your operating system, when you first started the document, and when you last edited it.
SimpleTool's PDF Metadata Remover shows you every field first, then scrubs both DocInfo and XMP in one click — entirely in your browser, no uploads.
Remove PDF Metadata — FreeWhy this matters — and who checks
Most people assume PDFs are opaque — what you see is what the recipient gets. That is not true. PDF metadata sits in plain text inside the file header and document catalog, accessible to any viewer that offers a Properties panel.
July 2024: Two online PDF tools publicly leaked user documents
Security researchers found that two popular online PDF services were leaving uploaded documents publicly accessible — including passports, driving licences, contracts, and certificates. The incident circulated widely and accelerated the shift toward no-upload, browser-only tools. Even tools that delete files promptly still received and processed your data.
Even without a breach, metadata is routinely examined by:
- Legal teams during discovery — modification timestamps can support or undermine a timeline
- Journalists and investigators verifying leaked documents
- Procurement teams who want to know if a proposal was copy-pasted from a competitor template
- Clients who notice the Author field names someone different from the person who sent the proposal
- Anyone who is curious — File → Properties is two clicks in any PDF viewer
The seven fields — what each one reveals
Author
DocInfoSource: Pulled from your operating system account name at time of creation
Reveals: Your real name or username — exactly as your OS knows you
Example: Sarah Johnson
Creator
DocInfoSource: Set by the application that originally created the document
Reveals: The software you used — app name and often version number
Example: Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365
Producer
DocInfoSource: Set by the PDF export engine
Reveals: Your operating system and version at export time
Example: macOS Version 14.5 Quartz PDFContext
Creation date
DocInfoSource: Recorded automatically at the moment the PDF was first generated
Reveals: Exact timestamp — date and time to the second
Example: 2026-08-22T09:14:03+03:00
Modification date
DocInfoSource: Updated each time the PDF is re-saved
Reveals: When the file was last changed before you sent it
Example: 2026-08-24T23:47:11+03:00
Keywords / Subject
DocInfoSource: Set by the authoring app or user
Reveals: Freeform tags that may carry internal project codes or client names
Example: PROJECT-ATLAS Q3 CONFIDENTIAL
XMP stream
DocInfo + XMPSource: XML packet embedded in the document catalog — separate from DocInfo
Reveals: All of the above, plus revision history and sometimes original file paths
Example: <xap:CreatorTool>Adobe InDesign 2024 (Macintosh)</xap:CreatorTool>
Who should always strip PDF metadata before sending
Freelancers and consultants
Proposals and reports embed your name and the exact moment you finished them — sometimes revealing how long you actually spent on the work.
Journalists and researchers
If your source document has your name as Author, it is no longer anonymous. Strip metadata before distributing or publishing sensitive files.
Lawyers and legal teams
Discovery requests can include metadata. Modification timestamps on contracts and agreements may become material evidence.
HR and recruiting teams
Blind hiring processes break down if anonymised CVs carry the applicant's name as Author or their employer in the Creator field.
Double-blind peer review authors
Journals require anonymous submissions. A PDF with your name in the Author field — or your institution in Creator — violates the blind review process.
Anyone sharing publicly
A rental listing, a community notice, a recipe PDF posted on social media — all can expose your name and software stack to anyone who downloads them.
How to check what's in your PDF right now
In Acrobat Reader or Acrobat
- Open your PDF
- Go to File → Properties (or press Ctrl+D)
- Click the Description tab
- All visible DocInfo fields are shown here
Note: the XMP stream is not shown here — it requires a dedicated metadata tool to inspect.
Using SimpleTool (shows XMP too)
- Go to simpletool.co/remove-pdf-metadata
- Drop your PDF — the tool reveals every non-empty field
- Sensitive fields are highlighted in amber
- Click "Scrub & Download" to remove everything
Runs entirely in your browser — your PDF is never uploaded to a server.
DocInfo vs XMP — why you need to clear both
PDF metadata exists in two separate locations inside the file:
DocInfo dictionary
A simple key-value store in the PDF trailer. This is what you see in File → Properties. Most "metadata remover" tools only clear this layer.
Fields: Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, CreationDate, ModDate
XMP metadata stream
An XML packet embedded in the document catalog — a separate structure that many tools miss entirely. It can contain the same fields as DocInfo plus additional fields that DocInfo does not support.
Some PDF readers hide XMP from the Properties dialog, but forensic tools and library parsers read it directly.
Tools that only clear DocInfo leave a recoverable XMP trace behind. SimpleTool's metadata remover deletes both layers — what you see in the reveal panel is everything that gets removed.
Check your PDF before you send it
Drop up to 10 PDFs, see every hidden field, and scrub them all in one click. No uploads — runs entirely in your browser.
Open PDF Metadata Remover — FreeFrequently asked questions
Can the person I send a PDF to see who created it?
Yes. Anyone who opens your PDF in Acrobat, Chrome, or macOS Preview can check File → Properties and see the Author, Creator application, creation date, and modification date in seconds. The information is stored in standard fields — it is not hidden from anyone who looks.
What is XMP metadata in a PDF?
XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is an XML packet embedded inside the PDF's document catalog, separate from the visible DocInfo fields. It can contain all the same author, date, and software information as DocInfo — plus additional fields like original file paths, revision sequences, and custom properties. Standard PDF properties dialogs sometimes hide XMP, but forensic tools and many PDF viewers can read it.
Does removing metadata affect the PDF content?
No. Metadata is stored separately from the visible pages, text, images, and form fields. Stripping it leaves the document looking and reading exactly the same — only the fingerprint fields are gone.
Does iLovePDF or Smallpdf stamp my PDF with their name?
Some online PDF processing tools add their branding to the Producer or Creator field when they re-save your document. This can reveal to recipients that you used a specific online service — and in some cases raises authenticity questions. A local, browser-only tool like SimpleTool does not touch your document on a server and leaves no third-party fingerprint.
How do I check what metadata is in my PDF right now?
Drop your PDF into SimpleTool's PDF Metadata Remover and click the reveal step — it shows every non-empty field before you delete anything. Alternatively, open the PDF in Acrobat Reader and go to File → Properties → Description.