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Remove Metadata from PDF on Windows: 3 Methods

Remove metadata from PDF on Windows with Print to PDF, ExifTool, or qpdf and Ghostscript. Strip author and title before sharing contracts and decks.

By Petr Samokhin

Legal sends a redacted contract PDF, but Properties still lists the paralegal’s name, a template path, or the original Word author. Remove metadata before external share, e-discovery upload, or public download when hidden fields should not leave your org.

PDF metadata types

Viewers expose many fields under Properties → Details.

MetadataWhere it appears
Title, Author, SubjectDocument properties
Creator and ProducerExport app and PDF engine
Creation and modification datesProperties and compliance scans
XMP packetsEmbedded XML for DAM and Adobe workflows

Metadata removal differs from shrinking embedded images. When byte size is the main problem, see how to compress PDF on Windows . Online sanitizers upload the full document; for NDAs and board decks, keep processing local. See are online file compressors safe on Windows .

Method 1: Remove metadata with Print to PDF

Best for: A quick cleaner copy when some tag loss is enough.

  1. Open the PDF in Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Choose Print, select Microsoft Print to PDF.
  3. Save to redacted\ with a new filename.
  4. Right-click the copy → Properties → Details and compare fields.

For image-heavy decks where metadata is fine but size is not, re-export from PowerPoint at screen quality.

Limitation: Print paths can alter fonts, links, and layer structure. Use ExifTool when you need deterministic tag removal without re-rendering pages.

Method 2: Strip with ExifTool

Best for: Deterministic author and title removal.

winget install ExifTool
exiftool -PDF:Author= -PDF:Title= -PDF:Subject= -PDF:Keywords= input.pdf

Safer for archives:

exiftool -all= -o clean.pdf input.pdf

Batch a folder:

mkdir clean
Get-ChildItem *.pdf | ForEach-Object {
 exiftool -all= -o "clean\$($_.Name)" $_.FullName
}

Verify with exiftool clean.pdf.

Limitation: ExifTool is a metadata tool, not a certified redaction suite for classified content.

Method 3: qpdf and Ghostscript

Best for: Structural rewrite when ExifTool alone is not enough.

winget install qpdf
qpdf --linearize input.pdf output.pdf

Then strip tags on output.pdf with ExifTool.

Ghostscript rewrite example:

gswin64c -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4 -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH `
 -sOutputFile=clean.pdf input.pdf

Compare one page visually after Ghostscript. Prefer ExifTool when you must preserve exact rendering.

Limitation: Aggressive rewrite can soft-type on scans.

Check the result

Spot-check Properties → Details on one file before you zip the packet. Keep originals\ with full metadata for internal records. Send only clean\ copies externally. A -redacted filename suffix helps when both versions live in the same SharePoint library.

ScenarioWhy metadata matters
Client contractInternal author name reveals staffing
RFP responseProducer string shows toolchain
Public whitepaperOld Title from a draft filename

When Print to PDF or ExifTool is enough

Print to PDF is enough for a simple share when Details looks clean. ExifTool fits folders and compliance checks.

GetCompress is not a dedicated PDF metadata stripper. When the real pain is embedded image weight, use it to compress PDF files locally, then strip author fields with ExifTool on the smaller output if required. It does not replace legal redaction tools. Pair with how to compress PDF on Windows for size-first workflows.

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