Frequently asked questions
The short answers, in the same words used by the structured data on this page. If something is missing, write in.
Do my PDFs get uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read with the browser File API and rewritten in memory by JavaScript served from this domain. There is no upload step, no API call and no server-side processing. You can load the page, disconnect from the network and still clean files.
What metadata does PDFClean remove?
Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, CreationDate, ModDate, any custom Info fields such as Company, the XMP metadata packet, and the trailer file identifier. By default it removes all of them; you can choose to keep selected fields instead.
How do I know the metadata is actually gone?
After the rewrite, PDFClean re-opens the saved bytes and reads them again. It checks every removed field, the XMP packet, the file identifier and any custom keys, and lists the result next to the download button. The download is only offered when every check passes.
Can I keep some fields, like the title?
Yes. Choose "Keep selected fields" and tick the fields you want to keep. Everything you did not tick — including custom fields, XMP and the file identifier — is removed.
Does it work on encrypted or password-protected PDFs?
No. Encrypted PDFs are detected and refused with a clear message. PDFClean never attempts to crack encryption. If you own the file and know its password, unlock it in a PDF application first and then clean the unlocked copy.
Is there a file size or file count limit?
There is no server limit, because nothing is sent to a server. The practical limit is your device memory. Batch cleaning of many files works; very large single files take longer to parse.
What does PDFClean not remove?
Page content, images, annotations and embedded files are untouched. Annotation authors, comments and attachment metadata are not covered in this version. Rewriting the file also invalidates any existing digital signature.
Is PDFClean free?
Yes. There are no accounts, no quotas and no paid tier. The site is static and cheap to run; ads.txt is present for future use but no advertising code runs on the site today.
Which browsers are supported?
Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. The tool needs no extensions, no plugins and no installation.
Does cleaning a PDF change how it looks?
No. The pages, text and images are preserved. The file is rebuilt, so its byte size may change and the file identifier changes or disappears, but the visible document is the same.