PDF & Documents
How to Remove Metadata from a PDF on Mac
Check a PDF's author and other details in Preview, then remove the metadata on your Mac with a cleaner and verify the result.
· 4 min read
Quick answer
On a Mac you can see a PDF's document info in Preview, but Preview is not built as a metadata remover. To remove the author, creator app and other fields, clean the PDF with a metadata remover and then re-check the copy you will send.
Step 1: see what the PDF contains
Open the PDF in Preview and choose Tools > Show Inspector. The info tab shows details such as author, producer and dates. Apple describes this in View PDF document info in Preview.
For a fuller list — including fields that only appear in the PDF's XMP block — upload it to our free metadata viewer. No account is needed to look.
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Step 2: fix the source if you can
If the PDF came from Word or Pages, removing your name in the original document first helps. See Word metadata removal. Exporting again does not guarantee every field is cleared, so still check the result.
Step 3: clean the PDF
- Go to the upload box and add the PDF (up to 10 MB on the free trial, 50 MB on Pro).
- Review the detected metadata.
- Clean it and download the result.
The free trial lets you clean and download one file free — once per account. Your trial is used only when cleaning succeeds, and you can download the same result again while it remains available. Pro is $14.99/year for regular use.
Step 4: verify
Open the cleaned PDF in Preview's Inspector again, or upload it to the viewer. The cleaning report also lists what was removed and anything that could not be removed. Our PDF metadata guide explains the difference between the info fields and XMP.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Can Preview remove PDF metadata?
Preview lets you view document info, but it is not designed as a full metadata remover. Use a cleaner and verify the result.
Sources & further reading
Every factual claim above is traceable to a primary source. Check them yourself:
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