Best Offline PDF Metadata Editor & Remover Free (2026)

PDF metadata is more revealing than most people realize. It can contain your name, email address, organization, edit history, GPS coordinates, and even the software license key you used to create the document. Before sharing a PDF, it’s wise to review and clean its metadata — and you can do it all offline.

What’s Hidden in PDF Metadata

A typical PDF contains more metadata than you’d expect:

• Document properties — title, author, subject, keywords
• Creation info — creation date, creator software, producer software
• Modification info — last modified date, editing software
• XMP metadata — extensive metadata in Adobe’s XML format (camera info, color profiles, copyright)
• Custom metadata — organization-specific fields (project codes, department names)
• Hidden text — deleted content that may still be recoverable in the metadata

Why Remove PDF Metadata

• Privacy — your name and email shouldn’t be in every document you share
• Security — software versions and license keys can reveal vulnerabilities
• Professionalism — “Draft” titles and internal project codes look unprofessional
• Legal — metadata can be subpoenaed in legal proceedings
• Competitive — revealing your tools and processes to competitors

Top 5 Free Offline PDF Metadata Tools

#1 Pick: PDFgear — Best GUI Metadata Editor

PDFgear provides a clean interface for viewing, editing, and removing PDF metadata.

View metadata:

1. Open the PDF in PDFgear
2. Go to File → Properties
3. Review all metadata fields in the Description tab

Edit metadata:

1. In the Properties dialog, click on any field to edit it
2. Update title, author, subject, and keywords
3. Click OK to save changes

Remove all metadata:

1. Go to File → Properties
2. Click “Remove Metadata”
3. PDFgear strips all metadata fields, XMP data, and document history
4. Save the cleaned PDF

For more PDFgear features, see our Best Free Offline PDF Editor for PC guide.

#2 Pick: exiftool — Most Powerful Metadata Tool

exiftool is the most comprehensive metadata tool available. It reads and writes metadata in virtually any file format, including PDF.

View all metadata:

exiftool input.pdf

View specific fields:

exiftool -Author -Title -Creator -Producer input.pdf

Edit metadata:

exiftool -Author="Anonymous" -Title="Document" input.pdf

Remove all metadata:

exiftool -all= input.pdf

Remove specific fields:

exiftool -Author= -Creator= -Producer= input.pdf

Batch processing:

exiftool -all= *.pdf

exiftool is the go-to tool for metadata forensics. It reveals fields that other tools miss, including XMP namespaces, custom schemas, and embedded thumbnails.

#3 Pick: PDF24 Creator — Simple Metadata Cleaning

PDF24 Creator provides a straightforward “Remove metadata” tool.

Step-by-step:

1. Open PDF24 Creator
2. Drag your PDF into the window
3. Click “Remove metadata”
4. PDF24 strips all document properties
5. Save the cleaned file

PDF24 also lets you edit individual metadata fields before or after removal.

Metadata Redaction Checklist

Before sharing a PDF publicly, run through this checklist:

• Author name — removed or replaced
• Creator software — removed (reveals your tools)
• Producer software — removed
• Creation date — consider removing (reveals timeline)
• Modification date — consider removing
• Title and subject — updated or removed
• Keywords — removed (may reveal internal project names)
• XMP metadata — stripped completely
• Embedded thumbnails — removed
• Custom properties — removed

For redacting visible content, see our Best Offline PDF Redaction Software guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove metadata from a PDF without software?

No. PDF metadata is embedded in the file structure and requires specialized tools to view or modify. At minimum, you need a tool like PDFgear or exiftool.

What’s the fastest way to strip all PDF metadata?

Use exiftool from the command line: exiftool -all= input.pdf. This removes all metadata fields in one command. For a GUI option, use PDFgear’s “Remove Metadata” feature.

Does removing metadata affect the PDF content?

No. Metadata is stored separately from the page content. Removing metadata doesn’t change how the document looks or functions. Text, images, links, and formatting are all preserved.

Can metadata be recovered after removal?

Once metadata is removed and the file is saved, the original metadata cannot be recovered from the PDF itself. However, if you have a backup or the file was previously shared, earlier versions may still contain the metadata.

Should I remove metadata from all PDFs?

It’s good practice to remove metadata before sharing PDFs publicly or with external parties. For internal documents where metadata helps with organization and search, you may want to keep it.

How do I check what metadata a PDF contains?

Open the PDF in PDFgear and go to File → Properties, or use exiftool input.pdf from the command line for a complete listing. See our Check PDF Security & Permissions guide for related information.