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Edit PDF Metadata

Change the title, author, subject, keywords and dates a PDF carries. The file never leaves your device.

HonestPDF edits a PDF's document properties in the browser: title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer and the creation and modification dates. It shows what your file actually contains rather than what a library filled in, writes only the fields you changed, and nothing is uploaded.

①Select file→②Review→③Download
Private
Stays on Device
Instant
Read in this tabNothing is uploadedOnly what you changed is written

What this gets right that most metadata editors do not

  • ✓It shows what your file contains, not what a library added: most PDF tools stamp their own name into Producer and today's date into the modification field the moment they open a document. This one opens it without doing that, so what you see on the page is what is actually in your file.
  • ✓Only the fields you change are written: a property you leave alone keeps the exact bytes it had, including the ones a tool would otherwise helpfully overwrite for you.
  • ✓It deals with the second copy: a PDF can carry its properties twice, in the Info dictionary and in an XMP block, and editing one and leaving the other means the change appears to work and then does not. When you save, the stale copy goes, and the page tells you so first.
  • ✓Nothing is uploaded: the file is opened in your browser and the new one built there. No account, no size ceiling set by a server, no copy of your document anywhere.

What happens to your PDF

Nothing leaves your device. The file is read in the tab, rewritten in the tab, and saved from the tab. There is no upload, no account, and no record of what you edited, because there is no server involved at any point.

Questions about PDF metadata

What is PDF metadata?
The properties a document carries about itself: its title, who wrote it, a subject line, keywords, the application it was made in, and when it was created and last changed. Readers show them in a properties panel, search engines and library systems read them, and most people never look at them, which is exactly why they are worth checking before a file goes anywhere.
Why does my PDF say it was produced by something I have never used?
Because whatever last touched the file wrote its own name there, which is what almost every PDF tool does automatically. It is not a sign of anything wrong, but if you would rather it did not say that, this is where you change it.
What is XMP and why does it get removed?
It is a block of XML holding a second copy of the same properties, and many readers prefer it to the plain fields. If both are present and only one is edited, your change shows up in some applications and not in others. Rewriting the XML would mean owning a second format and every extra schema anybody put in it, so the block is removed instead and every reader falls back to the fields you edited. The page says so before you save.
Does editing the metadata change the pages?
No. The text, the images and the layout are untouched; only the properties are rewritten, and only the ones you edited. The file that comes back is the same document with a different label on it.
Can I clear a field completely?
Yes, empty it and save. If you want every trace of hidden data gone rather than a few fields corrected, the Remove Metadata tool is the blunter instrument for that.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. It is read and rewritten by JavaScript in this tab. There is no server to upload to, which is also why there is no account and no limit on how many documents you edit.
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Properties set? Take the rest of the hidden data out, sign the file so it is clear who sent it, or lock it before it goes anywhere.

You might also need:

Remove Metadata
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