How to strip PDF author and metadata without uploading

At a glance

  • PDF Info fields (author, title, creator, producer, dates) often remain after you “export” or print to PDF.
  • DropMeta also removes Catalog Metadata/XMP when present — if XMP cannot be removed cleanly, download is blocked.
  • Encrypted PDFs are rejected; encryption is never unlocked or ignored.

Opening a PDF in Preview or Acrobat often still shows an author, title, creator, or dates. Those Info dictionary fields frequently survive “export” or print-to-PDF workflows.

Both the Info dictionary and Catalog Metadata/XMP matter. DropMeta clears author, title, creator, producer and dates, and removes Catalog XMP when present.

Steps: open /pdf/, drop the PDF, strip, then download. Files never leave this browser tab.

If Catalog XMP cannot be removed cleanly — or verification fails — DropMeta errors and blocks download rather than shipping a half-cleaned file. Encrypted PDFs are rejected outright.

FAQ and limits

What PDF metadata do you remove?

Author, title, creator, producer, dates, and Catalog XMP when present.

What if Catalog XMP cannot be removed?

DropMeta errors and blocks download rather than shipping a half-cleaned file.

Encrypted PDFs?

Rejected. We never unlock or ignore encryption.

Is this the same as ExifTool?

No. ExifTool is a local CLI with broader formats; DropMeta is a no-install browser tool. See /compare/exiftool/.