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Remove Your Name From PDF Metadata
Updated
Short answer: Open Edit PDF metadata, look at the current author, title, subject, keywords and creator, clear or correct them, and download the updated copy.
Every PDF carries a set of document properties that you never see on the page. Word fills in your account name as the author, the title is often an old working title, and the creator field names the software you used. Before you publish or send a file, it's worth a look.
Step by step
Step 1: Open Edit PDF metadata and drop the file. The current values are shown first.
Open Edit PDF metadata(runs on your device)Step 2: Clear the Author field, or replace it with your organisation's name.
Step 3: Set a proper Title. Readers show it in the window or tab, and search engines use it for PDFs published online.
Step 4: Check Subject, Keywords and Creator, and clear anything you don't want to share.
Step 5: Download the updated file and check File → Properties (or Document Properties) in your reader.
Why this works, and what to watch for
Document properties are stored in the PDF's information dictionary. Office apps fill them in automatically: Author comes from the name on your account or computer, Title from the document's properties or its first heading, and Creator from the application. That's how a CV can arrive with someone else's name as author, or a published report can show an embarrassing draft title in the browser tab.
Edit PDF metadata changes only these properties. The page content is untouched, so the file looks and behaves exactly as before. It runs in your browser, so the file isn't uploaded, which matters when the reason you're checking metadata is privacy.
Know the limits. Some files, especially from Adobe software, also keep a second copy of the properties in an XMP metadata block, which some readers prefer; this tool edits the information dictionary, so check the result in the reader you care about. Metadata also isn't the only place information hides: tracked changes, comments, hidden layers, embedded attachments and text under images can all carry more than the visible page. Flattening removes comments and form fields, and removing the content in the source document before exporting is the reliable way to deal with the rest.
For published PDFs, a real title is worth adding, not just clearing the author. Search results often display a PDF's title, and screen readers announce it when the document opens, so “Annual report 2026” beats “Microsoft Word - final_v3_FINAL.docx”.