How to remove metadata from a PDF on Mac
Every PDF carries information that never appears on any page. Sanitize clears it — with one limit stated plainly.
A PDF carries information about itself that is not on any page: a title, an author, a subject, keywords, and the dates it was created and modified. It travels with the file wherever the file goes, and most people have never looked at it.
Sanitize is part of Premium, so it carries a small lock in the document actions panel and in the menu bar. The lock is a label rather than a barrier — you can open the feature and see what it does before deciding to unlock it. Reading and every page operation stay free.
What is in there
| Field | What it usually contains | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Often the original filename or working title | “Henderson settlement draft 3” says a great deal |
| Author | Whoever's machine produced it, or their organisation | Identifies the source of an otherwise anonymous document |
| Subject and keywords | Whatever a template put there | Frequently an internal classification nobody meant to share |
| Creation and modification dates | When it was made and last changed | Can contradict what a covering message says about a document |
| Comments and marks | Notes from internal review | The most revealing thing in the file, and invisible until someone opens the annotations list |
Clear it, step by step
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Finish the document first
Sanitize before sending, not while still working — anything you do afterwards can put details back.
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Open Sanitize
From the document actions panel, under Protect & Share.
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Review what will be cleared
The document's details, along with comments and marks. If the comments are the point of the document — a review copy you are returning — this is not the tool you want.
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Apply and save under a new name
Keep the working copy with its comments; send the sanitized one.
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Check
Reopen the sanitized copy and look at its details and its annotations list. Both should be empty.
Some documents carry a second set of details, written by whatever program created them, in addition to the standard ones. Verso's sanitize does not currently reach that second set. For most documents this is irrelevant. If you are sharing something where authorship absolutely must not be recoverable — a whistleblowing disclosure, an anonymous submission — check the file in another tool before you send it. We would rather tell you this than have you find out.
When to sanitize
- Before any document leaves the organisation. Especially one built from an internal template.
- After redacting. The details often contain exactly what you just spent an hour removing from the body.
- Before publishing anything. A document on a website is read by more tools than people.
- Before sending a document produced by someone else. You are passing on their details along with the content.
When not to
Do not sanitize a review copy you are returning: the comments are the deliverable. Do not sanitize a document where the authorship is part of the record — a signed report, a filed submission, anything where “who produced this” is a question someone is entitled to ask.
What sanitize is not
It is not redaction. It clears what the document says about itself; it does not touch what is printed on the pages. A document with a name in its title and the same name in paragraph four needs both: sanitize for the first, redaction for the second.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove the author name from a PDF on a Mac?
Sanitize the document, from the document actions panel. It clears the title, author, subject and keywords along with comments and marks.
What metadata does a PDF carry?
A title, author, subject and keywords, creation and modification dates, and any annotations. None of it appears on a page and all of it travels with the file.
Does sanitize remove everything?
It removes the standard details, comments and marks. Some documents also carry a second set written by whatever produced them, which sanitize does not currently reach — so for anything where authorship must not be recoverable, check in another tool before sending.
Is sanitizing the same as redacting?
No. Sanitize clears what the document says about itself. Redaction removes content from the pages. A document with a name in both places needs both.
Should I sanitize before publishing a document?
Yes. A published document is read by many more tools than people, and its details are trivially easy to look at.
Will sanitizing delete my comments?
Yes — that is part of what it does. Keep the working copy if the comments matter.