Sanitize PDF

Leave less behind when you share.

Inspect actual document properties, then remove metadata, attachments, comments and actions. Metadata mode preserves page text; visual rebuild discards all original objects, including embedded image EXIF, but removes searchable text and interactive features.

How to use Sanitize PDF

1. Open your document from your device.
2. Adjust the settings and preview the result.
3. Read text results on screen or download your file. Your original remains untouched.

Local by design

Your documents are processed on your device. No account, payment or document upload is required.

Enable JavaScript to use the document workspace.

Inspect hidden document properties before choosing cleanup

Sanitize PDF helps you review actual document properties and remove supported metadata and hidden structures from a sharing copy. It is useful for public samples, anonymous review or reducing unnecessary provenance in a delivery file. Not every PDF contains the same information, and PDF metadata is not identical to image EXIF.

The inspection panel reports detected values and counts rather than assuming every file contains GPS data or a printer model. Read the findings before exporting. Decide whether the aim is document-level cleanup while retaining text or a broader visual rebuild that discards original objects. Keep an original when provenance or recordkeeping matters.

Choose the removal scope

1. Open the PDF and inspect its properties, metadata packets and reported structures.
2. Select metadata cleanup when preserving visible text and page content is important.
3. Select visual rebuild when discarding original embedded objects is appropriate.
4. Create and download a distinct sanitized copy.
5. Review properties, attachments, visible content and document behaviour in the output.

Metadata mode removes document information, XMP and supported attachments, comments, actions and related structures. Supported form appearances are flattened before interactive structures are removed. The mode preserves page content and embedded image data, so it should not be described as stripping all information from every embedded photograph.

Understand the visual-mode trade-off

Visual rebuild renders every page into a fresh image-based document. Original objects, including embedded image data that could carry EXIF, are not carried over. The result also loses searchable text, links, forms and other original interactive or semantic features. That can be suitable for a static sharing copy but inappropriate for a recipient who needs accessible text or editable fields.

Visible information is not automatically removed by either mode. An author name printed on the page or a customer reference in a table remains visible unless you redact it. Sanitization is not a substitute for content review. Likewise, a metadata inspector is not a universal detector of personal information inside photographs or paragraphs.

Deleting a metadata reference alone can leave its old bytes in a PDF. This cleanup also removes unreachable source objects before saving, rather than merely hiding their navigation entries. Even so, the scope should be judged against the actual output and the requirements of your workflow, not expanded into an unlimited forensic guarantee.

Inspect the result as a new deliverable

Reopen the downloaded PDF and check the fields you intended to remove. Inspect attachments and comments in a capable reader. Count pages and compare visible form values, diagrams and stamps with the original. If flattening cannot safely preserve a form appearance, resolve the source issue or deliberately choose an appropriate visual copy.

Check whether removed links, bookmarks or accessibility structure affect the recipient. A cleaner file can be less useful if important navigation disappears. Preserve a suitable original or alternative accessible version where required. Signed records also need separate handling: broad cleanup should not be represented as preserving a certificate signature over unchanged bytes.

Read the metadata guide for storage locations and verification, and the redaction guide for visible sensitive content. A successful sanitized copy has a defined removal scope, retains the information the recipient needs and passes a review of the exact file you will share.

Frequently asked questions

Does every PDF contain location data?

No. The contents depend on the source and software. Inspect actual findings rather than assuming fixed metadata categories exist.

Does metadata mode remove embedded image EXIF?

It preserves embedded image data. Use an appropriate visual rebuild when discarding original image objects is the intended trade-off.

Will visible names disappear?

No. Redact visible information separately when it should not be shared.

Are form fields and comments retained?

The cleanup removes interactive structures and comments; supported form appearances are flattened. Review the visible values afterwards.

Is visual mode still searchable?

It creates page images and removes the original text layer. Consider the recipient’s search and accessibility needs before choosing it.