The business card you didn't know you attached
Export a PDF and your name โ often the full login name from your computer โ rides along in the Author field. Add the exact software and version, the creation date (including that 3 a.m. timestamp), sometimes an internal file path or company name. Recruiters, clients, opposing counsel: anyone can open Properties and read it.
This tool first shows you what your file is telling โ the same fields anyone else would see โ then wipes them: title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, and both dates. Reading and wiping happen on your device; a tool for removing private data that started by uploading your file somewhere would be a bad joke.
Frequently asked questions
What metadata does a PDF contain?
Typically: title, author, subject, keywords, the application that created it, the PDF producer library, and creation/modification dates. Office exports often insert your account name as the author automatically.
Does this remove hidden text or annotations too?
No โ it wipes the document information fields, which is where identifying data usually hides. Text content, comments and form fields remain exactly as they are.
Why do the dates show 1970 after cleaning?
The PDF format requires the date fields to exist, so they are reset to the neutral epoch value โ a recognized "wiped" convention that reveals nothing about you.