Remove supported PDF metadata without uploading the document.
No Trace Share inspects supported PDF properties, refuses risky structures, cleans metadata only when the operation is safe, and verifies page-content preservation before offering the copy.
Opens the private browser-based cleaner. Your selected file stays on your device during supported inspection and cleaning.
What PDF metadata can reveal
A PDF can carry document properties that are not obvious on the page itself. No Trace Share checks supported document metadata before cleaning so you can see what the file says about its authoring history.
Author and identity
Supported PDF Info and XMP fields can contain author or creator names and other identity-related text.
Software history
Creator and Producer properties can identify the application or workflow that created or exported the PDF.
Titles, subjects and keywords
Document title, subject, keywords and related descriptive properties can travel with the file even when they are not visible on the page.
Dates and XMP
Creation/modification dates and supported document-level XMP metadata can reveal additional history about the file.
PDF cleaning is deliberately metadata-only
No Trace Share does not rebuild or redact the visible document in order to call it “clean.” For a supported PDF, it removes unselected document properties and supported XMP metadata, clears the document identifier, and verifies that page content streams, page geometry and links remain preserved.
Safety blockers: when No Trace Share refuses to clean
PDFs can contain interactive, signed or embedded structures where even a metadata-only rewrite may change behavior or invalidate trust. In those cases No Trace Share blocks cleaning instead of guessing.
Encryption / password protection
Password-protected or encrypted PDFs must be unlocked first.
Forms and form widgets
Interactive form structures are not supported for cleaning because field values and behavior must be preserved safely.
Digital signatures / certification
Signature fields, certification permissions and related structures block cleaning because rewriting the file can invalidate the signature.
Scripts, attachments and active actions
Embedded files, JavaScript, automatic actions, launch/import/submit behavior and similar structures are refused under the current policy.
Comments and non-link annotations
Comments, highlights, free-text annotations, stamps, redactions, ink and other non-link annotations require review in the original application.
Links are preserved
Ordinary link annotations are part of the supported preservation snapshot; their destinations are not sanitized.
What verification checks after cleaning
- Inspect: supported PDF properties and risky structures are identified.
- Block if unsafe: unsupported interactive, signed or active structures stop the clean before a download is created.
- Clean metadata: unselected PDF Info properties and supported XMP metadata are removed according to the current choices.
- Preserve content: page content streams, text, images, page geometry and links are compared before and after.
- Reinspect: the generated bytes are loaded again and metadata choices are verified before the copy is offered.
PDF metadata removal is not redaction
If a person's name appears visibly in a PDF, removing the Author property does not erase the visible name. If a photograph embedded in the PDF contains its own EXIF metadata, the PDF metadata cleaner does not open that image and strip its internal metadata. Those are separate content-cleaning problems.
No Trace Share therefore describes its PDF feature as metadata-only cleaning, not document anonymization or redaction.
PDF Metadata Remover FAQ
What PDF metadata does No Trace Share remove?
For supported PDFs, No Trace Share can remove unselected document Info properties such as author, creator, producer, title, subject, keywords and dates, plus supported document-level XMP metadata and the document identifier.
Does PDF metadata removal delete visible text or images?
No. PDF cleaning is metadata-only. Page content streams, text, images, geometry and links are preserved; visible content is not redacted.
Can it clean a signed PDF?
No. Digital signatures, certification permissions and signature fields block cleaning because rewriting the file can invalidate the signature.
Can it clean PDF forms or PDFs with JavaScript?
Not under the current policy. Forms, scripts, attachments and other active structures are blocked rather than modified unsafely.
Does it remove metadata from images embedded inside a PDF?
No. Metadata inside embedded images is not sanitized by the PDF metadata cleaner. The resulting PDF should still be reviewed before sharing.
Inspect the actual file before you share it.
Open the No Trace Share workspace to see supported metadata first, choose what changes, and verify the generated copy before saving.
Clean a file nowYour selected files stay in your browser and are not uploaded to No Trace Share.