Metadata is the doc’s hidden layer — and though it may appear innocuous, it’ll tell more than you ever wanted to disclose. If you have ever shared or published a PDF without looking into its metadata, then there is a good chance that you shared some information about you, your computer, or your editing history.
Whether you are a student writing a research paper, a lawyer sharing confidential papers, or a businessman sending proposals. Whatever you do, you must learn how to open, edit, and delete metadata from PDFs.This is a complete guide covering everything that you need to know about PDF metadata and how to manage it in a secure manner with a range of tools, including the highly developed Systweak PDF Editor.
What Is Metadata in a PDF File?
PDF metadata is the file’s secret information that tells us what the document contains, where it came from, and what was done to it. Invisible on the pages of the document, but all the behind-the-scenes realities are in the title, author, date created, keywords, edit record, application program used, and sometimes even private information, such as company name or user info.
PDF metadata is usually found in places like the Document Properties or as XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) formatted embedded. It’s generated automatically when a PDF is being made or modified, particularly by means of software such as Microsoft Word.
While sometimes forgotten, metadata is also important to searchability, file structure, and privacy. As a result, it should sometimes be changed or deleted—particularly when publishing PDFs professionally or to the public.
Why Should You Remove or Edit Metadata?
Here’s why it is fitting to delete or edit metadata from PDFs:
- Ensures Privacy and Identity
Metadata may contain your name, email, company, system username, or even the computer that generated the document.
- Erases Unwanted Editing History
Some PDFs have revision or comment history from former reviewers — that may not be meant to be seen by the public.
- Prepares Files for Professional Use
If you’re sending a file to clients, courts, or publications, you’d prefer it to appear clean, deliberate, and anonymous when you need it to.
- Evades Legal or Security Risks
In certain occupations, like legal, medical, or financial, accidentally revealing metadata can generate compliance problems.
How to View Metadata in a PDF File?
Before you even go and edit or delete metadata from a PDF, it’s well worth taking a look at what’s even being stored inside the file in the first place. There might be an absolute lot of background material there—some of which you may not even recall existed. Fortunately, looking in isn’t a time-consuming process or anything complex.
Using Systweak PDF Editor (Recommended)
Systweak PDF Editor allows one to access metadata without paying costly subscriptions or intricate software. This is how one can do it:
- Download and open Systweak PDF Editor on your Windows computer.
- Open the PDF document that you wish to examine by selecting “Open PDF”.
- Click on the “File” icon and select “Document Properties”.
- There will be a window displaying the metadata of the document, for example:
- Title
- Author
- Subject
- Keywords
- Application used to create the PDF
- Date created and last modified
This provides a rapid overview of all the embedded data — handy for determining what should be changed, corrected, or deleted.
How to Remove Metadata from a PDF?
If your PDF does not have sensitive metadata (like internal comments, firm information, or user data), it is beneficial to delete it before sharing. Fortunately, using Systweak PDF Editor, deleting unwanted metadata is easy in only a few simple steps.
Step-by-Step Procedure:
- Open PDF Tool on your computer.
- Press “Open PDF” and add the PDF you want to sanitize.
- Go to the Secure menu and choose “Remove Metadata.”
- Confirm “OK” to remove Metadata.
- Save the PDF to apply the change.
This cleanup process allows you to clear the Metadata without impacting the file’s actual content or structure.
Pro Tip: Once metadata is removed, saving should be under “Save As” rather than plain “Save”. This makes a copy of the file and allows for flushing out temporary metadata stored or cached while editing.
It’s safe and does not involve an upload to an online service or exposing your file to any data risks.
How to Edit Metadata in a PDF File?
Occasionally, you don’t want to remove unused metadata completely — you might want to change the text or modify it, at least. It’s particularly useful for businessmen distributing branded PDFs, teachers editing a set of papers, or SEO experts optimizing documents for web readability.
Editing metadata is easy with Systweak PDF Editor.
- Open Systweak PDF Editor and the PDF you wish to edit.
- Go to File > Document Properties.
- Click on “Edit Metadata”, modify the following fields if necessary:
- Title: Project or document title.
- Author: You, your organization, or your team.
- Subject: Brief description of what the PDF is for.
- Keywords: Search terms within or document classification.
- Press “Submit” upon modification.
- Save the document to save changes.
This simple process allows your PDF to reflect the correct identity or purpose. Whether you’re preparing client-facing reports, eBooks, or internal documents, proper metadata enhances clarity, ownership, and even search performance in PDF management systems.
Why Use Systweak PDF Editor for Metadata Management?
There are several dozen online tools available that claim to strip PDF metadata. So, why will you use Systweak PDF Editor?
- Offline & Secure
Unlike most free web applications, Systweak PDF Editor is completely offline-based, so your confidential documents aren’t uploaded onto the web — keeping your information safe and secret.
- Lightweight & Easy to Use
The program is still straightforward. No secret learning curve, no surprise features. Simple enough for beginners and professionals
- Multi-Function Tool
In addition to editing metadata, you can:
- Edit text and images
- Annotate PDFs
- Fill out and create forms
- Merge, split, or reduce the size of PDFs
- Execute OCR on scanned PDFs so that they can be edited
So, you’re not installing some one-off utility — you’re installing an entire PDF toolkit.
Final Words: Clean Metadata, Cleaner Workflow
Whether you are producing office writing, sharing a research paper, or safeguarding some private information, metadata is essential. Additionally, hidden information stored within the PDF file itself, such as authorship information, creation dates, or revision history, can reveal even more than you would like. For this reason, learning to delete or change PDF metadata is not just learning a technology; it’s really an act of privacy.
Systweak PDF Editor makes it easy, simple, and secure to do each of the steps necessary to complete this task. Its metadata options are now as easy as viewing, editing, or deleting metadata and still keeping the integrity of your PDF documents.
Fast, simple, and just the right tool for any average user working with electronic documents. Remember, before you push the share button to send your PDF document, remove all that information in the background. Your privacy will be appreciated.
Are you ready to gain back control over your PDFs? Download Systweak PDF Editor today, and make sure your documents only share the stories you want them to share.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is PDF metadata?
Metadata is hidden information within a PDF that includes the author’s name, creation date, keywords, and the application software the document was created in.
Q: Is it possible to see PDF metadata without Adobe Acrobat?
Yes, you can see it with programs like Systweak PDF Editor, file properties in Windows, and online free PDF metadata viewers.
Q: Is it okay to delete metadata from a PDF?
Yes, it is safe to extract metadata and respects your privacy when sharing files.
Q: Does metadata affect PDF file size?
Partially. Metadata is small in size yet may have larger implications for searchability and privacy than storage.
Q: Is metadata editable in scanned PDFs?
Yes, provided the scanned PDF has been made editable by using OCR-enabled tools.
Q: Does Systweak PDF Editor allow the removal of metadata?
Yes, it lets you view, edit, and delete metadata in PDF documents.
Q: Will deleting the metadata delete my document content?
No, only background information is erased — your display content is not affected.
Q: Can metadata be recovered after erasure?
Usually not. Once deleted and written over, metadata cannot be recovered unless previously backed up.
Read Also:
How To Edit Or Delete Notes In A PDF