# Remove the author and other hidden details from a PDF

> Read what a PDF says about itself, then download a copy that no longer says it. Nothing is uploaded.

See the author, title and dates a PDF keeps about itself, then save a copy without them. Done in your browser, so the file is never uploaded. Free.

- Tool: [Remove PDF metadata](https://fixmint.cc/remove-pdf-metadata)
- Category: [PDF](https://fixmint.cc/pdf)
- Fixes: PDF shows my name as author
- Runs in the browser: files and text stay on the device, no sign-up, free.

## How to remove metadata from a PDF

1. Drop one or more PDFs onto the box.
2. Compare the Before and After columns. Each detail shows what the file held and what the clean copy really holds.
3. Press Download, or Download all as a ZIP, and keep the -clean.pdf copy.

## Questions

### What is PDF metadata?

The details a PDF keeps about itself: its title, author, subject and keywords, the program that made it, the producer that wrote the file, and the created and modified dates. They sit in the file’s Info dictionary and are often copied into XMP, a block of XML inside the file.

### What does this not remove?

The text and pictures on the pages, comments, form entries and attached files stay as they are. Anything you can see on a page is content, not metadata. To hide part of a page, use the redact tool.

### Do the pages change?

No. The pages are copied as they are, with the same text and pictures. Only the document details are dropped.

### Is the file uploaded?

No. The PDF is read and written again inside your browser tab. Nothing is sent to a server, and your original file is not changed; you download a new copy.

## Related tools

- [Remove photo location](https://fixmint.cc/remove-photo-location): Photo shows where I live
- [Redact PDF](https://fixmint.cc/redact-pdf): Hide private text in a PDF
- [Compress PDF](https://fixmint.cc/compress-pdf): PDF too big to email or upload
- [Merge PDFs](https://fixmint.cc/merge-pdf): Several PDFs need to be one